Hot Reuben Dip in a Pumpernickel Bread Bowl

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 50 min
  • Active: 20 min
  • Yield: 6 to 8 servings
This decadent dip deviates from the sandwich that inspires it—a true Reuben is made with corned beef, Russian dressing, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese piled between slices of rye bread then griddled. Instead we substitute in pastrami for corned beef and add cream cheese with Swiss to create that perfect, creamy dip texture, all mixed together with sauerkraut and homemade Thousand Island dressing in a pumpernickel bread bowl. It captures much of the original’s essence and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk the mayonnaise, ketchup and pickle in a large bowl until combined; season with salt and pepper.
  2. Add the Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, cream cheese and pastrami to the mayonnaise mixture; stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Using a small serrated knife, hollow out the bread loaf, leaving a ½-inch-thick shell; reserve the cut-out bread. Fill the loaf with the dip; transfer to a baking sheet.
  3. Slice the reserved bread into pieces and arrange on a separate baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Bake the bread bowl until the cheese melts and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes, adding the sliced bread to the oven during the last 10 minutes. Serve with the toasted bread and crackers and/or crudites.