French Onion & Spinach Cobb Loaf dip
This is my go to, good old French onion + Spinach Cobb loaf dip. Especially when it’s hot. Remember the ad by Cadbury Dairy Milk.. “oh… and.. don’t bring a thing!”… yeah right. That just doesn’t cut it when you grow up in a Greek home.
My Greek Heritage
It seems to crave all those things I wasn’t exposed to growing up. In primary school, I used to trade my lunches and even buy my friends lunches just so I could “taste” what they were eating! It wasn’t until later in life, (married) I had so many Aussie friends and I still do, who would teach me how to make certain dishes and vice versa.
I first tried this French onion & Spinach Cobb loaf dip at an Australia Day BBQ, around 92-93’ and that was it. The fact that it was served in a Cobb loaf.. was GENIUS to me. And here I am, 30 years later, with the same fuzzy feeling I had then. Call me crazy, but it just rocks not just my world but everyone at the BBQ. I made 1.8 litres of it, I know… it’s not normal.. but after making it for such a long time, I’ve learnt that I’m not the only one who has a nostalgic connection to this dip, mine goes back 30 years – whereas, there’s a new generation that is trying the French onion & spinach cobb loaf dip for the first time. I always get excited when I hear someone come to ask me if they can have the “recipe”… sure I answer no problem and just like that, through the magic of technology I have “airdropped” it to her phone and another dip maker is born… my only wish would be that she prints it off and files it away for future generations- now that I think about it, she already has… it’s up in the clouds
French Onion & Spinach Cobb Loaf Dip
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Large mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 1 large Cobb loaf
- 450 gm can water chestnuts drain and chop roughly
- 800 ml sour cream
- 250 gms frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained of excess liquid
- 80 gms dry french onion soup mix (2 x Pkts)
- 1 cup thick Greek yoghurt
- 1/2 cup of really good ready made mayonnaise aioli can be substituted
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180C.
- Slice 1/3 of the top of the loaf off, remove the internal soft bread and brush the inside with olive oil, bake until lightly browned approximately 15 – 20 mins. Position a cake rack on a cookie tray and place it in the oven, turn the loaf upside down on the rack and continue to bake for 10-12 mins this allows the hollow part to dry out without burning the edges. Remove and cool completely.
- Using the large bowl, add the sour cream, chopped chestnuts, both packets of the onion soup, mayonnaise, well drained spinach and yoghurt, mix well to combine all the ingredients.
- Add salt to taste if required.
- Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate overnight for the best result.
- Serve with crackers of your choice/ cut up vegetables.
Notes
- I don’t use the lid of the loaf, you can if you prefer, place the lid into the oven and follow directions as outlined. It may only need 15 mins to bake compared to the whole loaf.
- I feed the “inners” of the bread to the birds, you could make breadcrumbs.
- This dip is best made at least 24hrs before serving and up to 4-5 days in advance. The dry ingredients in the soup mix require re hydration which takes at least 24 hrs.
- I serve this with fresh radishes, baby carrots, crackers and corn chips.