Easy Being Green Dip

I'm a big fan of dark leafy greens. I know it's not just me and Popeye, but these veggies are kinda notorious for being difficult to get down the hatch of picky eaters. This dip, which I think is best described as a cross between Spinach Artichoke Dip and French Onion Dip, is capable of converting even the biggest skeptics (whether of the grown-up or pint-sized variety!). And unlike those dips, it uses greek-style yogurt instead of relying on the traditional mayonnaise or sour cream. Greek-style yogurt is creamier than regular plain yogurt and has twice the protein! In the video below, you'll see we use kale as the green, but you can use swiss chard or even spinach.

This recipe came out of an event we did with Stonyfield a couple of summers back. They hosted a big area at Taste of Lincoln in Chicago and asked me/Kids' Table to conduct cooking demos featuring their Oikos Greek yogurt. Stonyfield wanted an original recipe that pushed beyond the conventional yogurt uses in parfaits and smoothies. We went through quite a few rounds of tasting to get the flavor balance just right. And it was worth it! Over the past year a half, we've made this in Kids' Table classes, with school groups ranging in age from 4 to 17, and in adult cooking demonstrations - always with rave reviews. Let us know how it goes over with your crowd!

Happy cooking!

Easy Being Green Dip

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch swiss chard or kale (or a combination of both), about 5 oz
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Greek-style yogurt
2 oz parmesan or pecorino romano, finely grated
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Few pinches ground black pepper 

Directions

Separate tough stems from greens. Tear leaves into small pieces and set aside. Finely chop stems. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté chopped kale/chard stems and onion until softening, about 5 minutes. Add greens, garlic and a few pinches salt to pan and sauté until greens are tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, cooled greens mixture and cheese. Stir well to combine. Stir in lemon juice and remaining salt. Enjoy with warm pita, pita chips or even carrot sticks!

Makes about 3 cups

What Kids Can Do (with appropriate tools & adult supervision)
*Wash greens and remove tough stems
*Tear leaves into small pieces
*Chop onions & mince garlic (it's best to cut the onion into 1/2 inch rainbow slices first; wavy choppers or similar cutters are safer ways to get younger kids involved in this step)
*Measure out salt, pepper and yogurt
*Grate cheese (carefully watching those little fingers!)
*Juice lemon
*Stir and taste