Karen's Holiday Cheesy Corn & Crab Dip Lightened-Up
A wonderful creamy dip - lightened up with leeks and fresh corn, lump meat crab is folded in for some decadence. Served in a warm casserole dish with a melted cheese top.
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups leeks thinly sliced; cleaned and dried
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic peeled, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or your favorite mild chiles
- 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels divided
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise preferably without natural flavoring
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup sour cream (could use greek yogurt)
- 1 1/4 cups aged white cheddar cheese divided, grated (1/4 cup is for topping)
- 1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese grated
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 pound lump crab meat best quality
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add olive oil to a medium sized skillet, set to medium-low heat. When warm, add leeks and sauté until softened bit not colored, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, stir and cook one minute.
- Add spinach, Kashmiri chile powder and half of the corn - 3/4 cup. Cook until spinach just wilts and corn is bright yellow. Remove from heat.Cool slightly and then add to a small food processor an puree until somewhat smooth.
- In the same skillet, cook remaining 3/4 cup corn with a scant amount of olive oil and cook at medium heat until just a touch golden.
- Add the puree to a large bowl. Add the 3/4 cup skillet corn, mayonnaise, greek yogurt, sour cream, ONE cup of cheddar and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Mix all to together with a rubber spatula.
- Add the dip to an 8 inch baking dish soothing the top. Can be made ahead at this point and refrigerated until ready to bake.
- Bake the dip until warmed through about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and tuck in the lump crab into the dip.Top evenly with the reserved 1/4 cups cheddar cheese. Bake until warmed through and bubbly, about 15 more minutes. (Crab is "tucked in so it does not over heat and become fishy.)
Serving:
- Serve with toasted baguette slices, your favorite crackers or corn chips, or all!
Notes
This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
Nutrition
Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 315mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 828IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 1mg