Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Dip |Cooking With Amanda

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Dip

Bon Appétit | April 2012

by Andrew Knowlton

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Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Dip recipe

photo by Romulo Yanes

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Makes 4 to 6 servings

Everything I know about getting a party started right, I learned at Houston's restaurant in Atlanta. No kidding. Its creamy, bubbling spinach and artichoke dip was a must on date night in high school, and these days it's the dish that even the snobbiest of food snobs can't resist. I'll whip it up for friends and, no matter what else I serve, it's always the first thing to go. Sometimes I leave out the spinach, add red pepper flakes, or use whatever vegetable is in season. In other words, it stands up to improvisation. We've put a spring spin on the dish, starring asparagus, just-dug-up leeks, sweet peas, and fresh goat cheese. Serve it with crostini, tortilla chips, or crudités. Or just eat it by the spoonful. It's that good.
—Andrew Knowlton

Ingredients

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°F. Cook asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain; let cool.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 10 minutes. Whisk in flour; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened; remove from heat. Add cheddar; whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fold in asparagus (reserve tips), artichoke hearts, peas, chives, mint, flat-leaf parsley, zest and 2 ounces crumbled fresh goat cheese.

Transfer mixture to a 4-5-cup baking dish; arrange asparagus tips on top and dot with another 2 ounces goat cheese. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.