Spinach and Artichoke Pate

Anyone who follows me here and on social media will have already seen my appeals for the Applebee’s spinach and artichoke pâté recipe that I’m in love with (this here).I found several recipes on the internet (American sites), but I decided to test it on my intuition. Guys, it was delicious! Very good indeed! At the end of the post there are some important considerations.

The ingredients I used were:

* I also used 2 tablespoons of milk (which will be used at the end of the preparation.

Let’s start by preparing the ingredients:

• The frozen spinach comes in balls, the package is 350g and contains 10 balls, I used half. I defrosted it in the microwave and squeezed it well to remove the liquid.
• I grated 1/2 cup of parmesan and 1/2 cup of mozzarella.
• I chopped 2 units of artichoke bottom.
• I chopped 1/3 of an onion.

Preparation of the pâté:

I sautéed the onion in olive oil until wilted, added 1 teaspoon of squeezed garlic, spinach and artichokes. I sautéed for a few minutes, added 2 generous tablespoons of cream cheese (the harder catupiry type), the mozzarella and half of the parmesan. I mixed well and as the consistency was very thick, I added 2 tablespoons of milk. I added salt and black pepper. I put the rest of the parmesan on top. I made it in the iron pan because I thought it would need to be put in the oven, but as I ate it straight away, it wasn’t necessary. If you make it in advance when serving, it is best to heat it in the oven, as this is a pâté to be served hot with nachos (Doritos). Makes 4 servings.

CONSIDERATIONS:

• Not to be pretentious, but I really can’t say which of the two is better (mine or Applebee’s). Both are wonderful and very similar.
• I think Applebee’s has a more “sour” component, I imagine it could be cream cheese, which is more acidic, or sour cream. Adriana, a reader who lives in Florida sent me a recipe with these 2 ingredients.
• I believe that at Applebee’s they don’t sauté the pâté and they don’t use the onion, they just mix everything together and put it in the oven. I also think they use the “heart”, but I only found artichoke bottoms. The flavor is the same but the heart has longer fibers and the bottom has a firmer texture.