Artichoke and feta dip

I don't know how you feel when you leave work, but I'm usually starving. In fact, I would say that I'm pretty ready at that stage to do almost anything for something to eat. And I hate anyone who gets on the train with food (I'm talking to you, blonde girl who gets on in Harrow with a hamburger every night!), because I so envy them.

This is the worst time for me when it comes to trying to eat healthily, as I have absolutely no will power when I'm hungry and it is so easy to buy some nuts, a muffin or crisps on my way home. I've tried taking fruit with me to eat on the train home, but find that it doesn't really satisfy me, and for awhile I've instead brought mini houmus pots and some vegetables.

I really like houmus, I do, but recently I find it quite boring, and the full fat one is quite heavy on the calories anyway. The broccoli dip I posted about quite recently is an attempt at getting away from houmus, but it's really best when freshly made, so not ideal for me as I like to be able to do a batch and use it for a week.

So I needed to come up with something new. A dip that would be salty, savoury, easy to make, and could be done as a batch. The solution was this artichoke and feta cheese dip. It is not pretty, to cite my friend Sigrid - the winner of Swedish Masterchef, 'I do ugly food that tastes good'. So no, it won't win any beauty contests, but wow, does it taste good! This is definitely my new favourite dip. Great as a dip for vegetables, and also as a spread on bread. You could also have it on crostini and serve as canapes.

Artichoke and feta dip
180 g of grilled artichokes
100 g feta cheese
2 tbsps quark (or you could use cream cheese, sour cream or creme fraiche)
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice
0.5 tsp honey
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 pinch chili flakes

Mix all the ingredients, I used a stick blender

Taste, and add more lemon or spices if needed

Serve as a dip for vegetables or as a spread on bread

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, it will last up to one week (well, it can be stored that long, but if you're like me, it really won't last that long...)