Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Easy appetizer: white bean dip

I’ve had a package of large dried white beans in the pantry for a little while and have been thinking about making a bean salad with them. That was until I saw a package of hand-made artisanal crackers at the specialty store and couldn't resist them. And they were calling for a white bean dip.

I love dips and spreads. If I had my choice I’d have a mezze platter every day of the week with hummus, babaganouj, some cured meats, some olives, and a maybe and artichoke or bean dip!

Making a dip doesn’t take much time – most of the time is inactive time. Make sure you buy dried beans from somewhere that has a reasonably high turnover – you don’t want old beans, which will take longer to cook and yield a less pleasing result.

White bean dip

1 lb dried white beans such as cannellini beans
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
Italian flat leaf parsley for garnish

Soak beans overnight in a generous amount of cold water. Rinse and pick out any debris. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, sauté onion and garlic with thyme in a few tablespoons of olive oil until onions are translucent. Add beans and cold water to cover beans by a few inches. Bring to a full boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until beans are tender 1-2 hours. Remove thyme.

Drain beans and place in blender with ¼ cup olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Purée, adding additional olive oil slowly to adjust texture as desired. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped parsley, sea salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

7 comments:

Ashley said...

This looks great! I don't used dried beans too often, but this will be a nice way to start :)

Simones Kitchen said...

Fabulous idea to get rid of all my beans... I have a large stack of various beans that I used for a photoshoot once and this is a perfect recipe for some of them! I love the photo too. I always struggle a bit with photos from top as it is hard to place all the ingredients at the right position but this looks very natural and beautiful! Great combination of colors too!

Liska said...

Beautiful presentation. I just love your photos and recipes.

Kasey said...

I adore white beans--they're so flavorful and creamy. I will definitely have to make this for a potluck or party.

liz @ zested said...

What a beautiful photo - it takes such a simple subject and gives it such rich textures. I'll definitely be stopping back!

Sabra said...

Thanks for all of the comments. I just love white beans! And I'm seeing them everywhere - in soups and cold bean salads with red onion. . .hmmm...

Nicole (Cooking After Five) said...

I make white bean dip all the time...sometimes as a substitute for dinner if I'm really lazy. :-) Your photos are wonderful!

Post a Comment

Thank you for submitting a comment. I love, love reading your comments - they motivate and inspire me. Typically I try to come back and respond to your comment. Forgive me if occasionally I don't. Thanks for dropping by! (p.s. please don't leave marketing messages here)