Dip In

We all know the feeling: sitting down to a Friday night meal, piling a couple of colorful salads and your favorite dips onto your plate, with hot challah as the anchor and accompaniment. Here are some of the tried and true options in our homes.

Garlic and Spinach Dip

• 12 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp oil, plus more for sautéing
• 1 5-oz (140-g) box fresh spinach leaves
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ¹⁄₃–¹⁄₂ cup creamy dressing (you can use my dressing recipe which I’ve printed in FT in the past)

Place garlic cloves on a baking sheet and spray with oil. Roast at 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes. Heat a small amount of oil in a large frying pan. Place the spinach leaves in the hot pan and spray a bit more oil on top. Cover and allow to wilt for 2–3 minutes. Season with salt. Allow to cool. Squeeze out excess liquid. In a food processor fitted with the S blade, place roasted garlic cloves, squeezed-out spinach, and creamy dressing. Pulse on medium speed until desired consistency has been reached. (For a thinner dip, add a small amount of creamy dressing at a time, up to ¹⁄₂ cup total, until dip reaches desired consistency.)

—Rorie Weisberg, health columnist

Quick and Easy Olive Dip

Pour a can of green olive rings into a container, add a splash of olive oil, two fresh garlic cloves, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and dried basil. Then blend it with an immersion blender. This is so popular with my kids that we usually have to ration it out at the Shabbos table!

—Sara Bonchek, associate editor

Creamy Eggplant Dip

This is one of our favorites.

• 2 medium eggplants
• 1–2 cloves garlic
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
• salt and pepper, to taste

Slice eggplants in half, lay on a baking sheet skin side down, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350°F (175°C) until the inside is nice and soft and juices are oozing out, about 20–30 minutes (depending on size). When cool, scoop out the flesh into a food processor. Add garlic, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth and creamy.