As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we joined a CSA, and that means every two weeks we get deliveries of fresh produce.

I never know what is going to be included in our basket, and that’s part of the fun. It challenges me to try new foods and new recipes and to incorporate fresh vegetables into every dinner.

This week’s CSA basket included two big bags of mustard greens, a food that isn’t in my normal repertoire. Even though I was born and raised in the south, I don’t cook or eat “greens” often, other than spinach.

I decided to try something besides my typical sauté or the traditional way of serving greens. I wondered, could I take a classic appetizer — spinach and artichoke dip — and replace one of the key ingredients? Only one way to find out.

I washed up a mess of golden frill mustard greens. Sorry, I didn’t really measure, but it was one large bagful and then some. The photo will should give you some reference.

The washed and dried greens went straight into a large sauté pan with a little bit of olive oil. Just enough to coat the pan. I sautéed the greens over medium heat in batches, adding more as they cooked down and wilted.

Once the greens were wilted, I added 2 cups of chicken broth and freshly ground salt and pepper, turned the heat to low and covered the pan. I let the greens braise for 15 or 20 minutes, until they looked like this:

From here, the greens went back into the colander to drain and cool.

A little while later, I squeezed as much of the liquid out of the greens as possible. I also rolled them in a tea towel and squeezed some more to remove even more of the liquid.

To make my dip, I adapted Paula Deen’s hot spinach-artichoke dip recipe .

Hot Mustard Greens & Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

6 ounces braised mustard greens, cooled and squeeze to remove excess liquid
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 TBS mayonnaise
1/4 cup plus 2 TBS sour cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian blend cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the greens, artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, sour cream and parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Spread into a baking dish that has been coated with nonstick spray.
4. Top with Italian blend cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is bubbly and brown, at 350 degrees.

This is what it looked like piping hot from the oven:

We enjoyed our dip with toast points, tortilla chips and wheat crackers. And when I say, “enjoyed,” I mean it. This was as good as any spinach and artichoke dip you’d get at a restaurant, and I thought the mustard greens gave it a good flavor. Their flavor was a nice contrast to the artichokes. I’d definitely make this again, and I would even serve it for guests, so you know it’s good.

I will warn you that mustard greens can be a bit tougher than spinach. If you’re sensitive to that, you may want to braise them longer and remove the stems, which can be tough.