Spinach French Onion Cob Dip

Ingredients

• 1 packet (40g/1.4oz) French onion soup mix powder, ( full salt (not low salt))
• 250g/8 oz cream cheese (, full fat)
• 300g/ 10oz sour cream (, full fat (or 250g/8oz tub + top up with yogurt or extra mayo))
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (, whole-egg or Kewpie)
• 250g/8 oz frozen chopped spinach (, thawed (I microwave), excess water squeezed out with hands (Note 1))
• 1 cob loaf ((crusty round bread), preferably sourdough, or other shape loaf, about 25cm/10oz wide (Note 2))
• Artichokes, chopped water chestnuts, green onion, bacon, garlic, shredded cheese, jalapeño (for zing!)

Steps

1. 1

   Warm cream cheese then mix well to soften. Mix in mayo, sour cream and soup, then spinach. Fridge 3 hours, serve in bread bowl!

2. 2

   Soften cream cheese - Put the cream cheese in a microwave-proof bowl and use a wooden spoon to roughly break it up into 8 or so chunks. Microwave on high for ~30 seconds then mix well until it is soft and loose, like sour cream.

3. 3

   Mix - Add the sour cream, mayonnaise and soup powder, mix well. Then stir in spinach.

4. 4

   Fridge 3 hours - Refrigerate, covered, for 3 hours (or overnight) to let the flavours meld.

5. 5

   Bread bowl - Using a bread knife, cut a lid off the bread (about 2.5cm/1" thick). Cut around the inside of the loaf, leaving a 2cm/0.8" border and base. Score the bread inside the ring into 2.5cm/1" squares, then pull the pieces out with your fingers to create a bread bowl.

6. 6

   Serve - Take it out of the fridge 1 hour prior to serving to take the chill out and loosen (if needed, warm slightly in microwave). Give it a good mix, pour into the bowl and serve with the bread pieces on the side for dipping. I recommend providing extra dippers (crackers, chips - my favourite is crinkle cut plain potato chips) as there is more dip than bread!

7. 7

   Loosely wrap the dip filled bread with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Olive oil spray bread pieces and season with pinch of salt. Scatter around the unwrapped cob dip and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the bread pieces are lightly browned. Serve warm!