Ten ingredients and fifty minutes, and eight of those ingredients are eggs. It sets like a crustless quiche and is cut into slices.
There is no cheese in it and nothing starchy under it. What you can see in the finished dish is spinach, quartered artichoke and whole blistered tomatoes in set egg.
Why This Recipe Works
- Wilting and squeezing the spinach first stops it watering down the egg.
- Half-and-half rather than cream keeps the set light enough to slice cleanly.
- Pressing the tomatoes into the surface blisters their tops in dry heat.
- A drizzle of oil over the top is what gives the edges their browning.
- Ten minutes of rest lets the set firm up before a knife goes near it.
Ingredient Notes
- Eight large eggs
- The body of the dish. Everything pale yellow in the finished casserole is egg — there is no cheese sauce and no cheese anywhere in this recipe.
- Quartered artichoke hearts
- A fourteen-ounce can, drained, kept in quarters. Chopped small they would disappear into the egg; in quarters they stay recognisable.
- Whole cherry tomatoes
- A cup and a half, pressed into the surface rather than stirred through. That is how they blister on top.
- Olive oil, split
- A tablespoon in total: half wilts the spinach and half is drizzled over the top, where it browns the edges.
How to Make It
Oven on, dish oiled
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and oil an 8-inch square baking dish.
Wilt the spinach and squeeze it
Wilt spinach in a skillet with half the oil; cool briefly and squeeze away excess moisture.
Eggs, herbs, then fold in
Whisk eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano. Fold in spinach and quartered artichoke hearts.
Tomatoes pressed into the surface
Pour into the dish and press whole cherry tomatoes into the surface. Drizzle with the remaining oil.
Thirty to thirty-five minutes, to 160F
Bake 30 to 35 minutes until set, browned at the edges, and the center reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rest, slice, and nothing added
Rest 10 minutes before slicing. Do not add pasta, rice, bread, or cheese.
Five Things to Get Right
Spinach and artichoke are two of the three headline ingredients here, but this is a casserole rather than a dip. Everything below is either what makes it one, or what the eggs need.
The spinach, before it meets the eggs
Wilted, cooled briefly, and SQUEEZED of excess moisture.
5 oz of baby spinach is mostly water. Folded in wet, it seeps out during the bake and leaves a weepy layer under a set top.
The artichokes
QUARTERED pieces, drained - not chopped small.
Quarters matter here. In quarters they read as artichoke in the cut slice; chopped they vanish into the egg and the dish stops being recognisable.
The tomatoes
WHOLE, pressed INTO the surface rather than stirred through.
Pressed in, their tops stay proud of the egg and blister in the dry oven heat - which is what the photograph shows. Stirred through, they would burst inside the set and water it.
The bake
160F in the centre, set, and browned at the edges.
Eight eggs make this an egg dish, and 160F is the standard for one. The 30 to 35 minute window is the guide; the thermometer is the decision. The browning at the edges comes from the remaining 1/2 tbsp of oil drizzled over the top.
The plate
Rested 10 minutes, sliced - and NOTHING added.
Step 6 leaves out pasta, rice, bread and cheese by name. The absence of cheese is what makes this an egg casserole rather than a baked dip, and there is no starch in it either.
Success Tips
- Squeeze the spinach properly — wet spinach makes a weepy casserole.
- Press the tomatoes in rather than folding them through so their tops stay exposed.
- Give it the ten-minute rest; cut hot, the slices break.
Serving Ideas
Six slices from a white dish, the thick pale-yellow egg set through with spinach and quartered artichoke, blistered whole cherry tomatoes on top, browned at the edges and sitting in a little yellow oil with herbs and cracked pepper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the cheese?
There is none. There is no cheese here — the pale yellow body is egg-set, and step 6 leaves cheese out alongside the starches.
How is this different from the spinach artichoke dip?
That one is a cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise dip with chopped artichokes, scooped rather than sliced. This is an egg casserole cut into slices with whole blistered tomatoes on it.
Why 160 degrees Fahrenheit?
It is an egg dish, and that is the standard for one. The centre is where it is measured.
