Why It Works
- Steeping uncooked garlic in lemon juice prevents harsher garlic flavors from forming, and lends the dip refined allium aroma as a substitute of a pungent chew.
- Processing cooked white beans with a small quantity of bean cooking liquid produces a super-smooth dip with out diluting the flavour of the beans.
- A easy, punchy, puttanesca-inspired roasted cherry tomato topping acts a vivid counterpart to the earthy richness of the bean dip.
Even when we aren’t internet hosting in-person dinner or cocktail events as of late, we will nonetheless make tasty, pantry-friendly dips and appetizers for snacking on. You probably have a whole lot of dried legumes in your pantry, then this super-smooth white bean dip is a good way to place a pot of beans to good use.
For this dip, we hold issues easy by buzzing up cooked white beans with a bit little bit of their cooking liquid, garlic, and lemon juice, earlier than streaming in a wholesome quantity of extra-virgin olive oil to kind a {smooth} purée. To mood the cruel chew of uncooked garlic, we steep a grated clove in lemon juice earlier than processing it with the beans. As we discovered with our tahini sauce with garlic and lemon, combining lemon juice with processed uncooked garlic prevents harsher garlic flavors from forming, permitting the garlic to lend a extra refined aroma to the dip slightly than a pungent chew that might overwhelm the flavour of the beans.
The dip is paired with a vivid and assertive puttanesca-inspired roasted cherry tomato salad that performs off the earthy richness of the beans. Cherry tomatoes are roasted with a bit olive oil till their skins simply start to wrinkle and break up, after which are tossed with briny black olives, anchovy, recent parsley, and a wholesome pinch of crimson pepper flakes. The juices and drippings from the roasted tomatoes kind a candy and tangy dressing with out the necessity for extra oil or vinegar.
Each the bean dip and the roasted tomato salad will hold for a number of days within the fridge, so you’ll be able to dole it out at your leisure as a wholesome snack, gentle desk lunch, or Zoom pleased hour appetizer.
Could 2020
This Straightforward, Creamy Bean Dip Is the Final Snack
Prepare dinner Mode
(Preserve display screen awake)
For the Tomato Salad:
-
1 pound cherry tomatoes (about 1 pint; 450 g)
-
1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
-
Kosher salt and freshly floor black pepper
-
1/2 ounce flat-leaf parsley leaves (1 loosely packed cup; 15 g), roughly chopped
-
1/4 cup (50 g) pitted black olives, akin to Niçoise, Taggiasca, or Kalamata
-
1 oil-packed anchovy fillet (5 g), minced (non-compulsory)
-
Pinch crimson pepper flakes, gochugaru (Korean chile powder), or Aleppo pepper
For the White Bean Dip:
-
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml) recent lemon juice from 1 complete lemon
-
1 medium garlic clove (5 g)
-
2 cups (425 g) cooked dry white beans, drained, or 1 (15-ounce; 425 g) can low-sodium white beans, drained and rinsed (see observe)
-
1 tablespoon (15 ml) bean cooking liquid, from a pot of beans cooked from dry, plus extra as wanted (see observe if utilizing canned beans)
-
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
For Serving:
-
1 loaf rustic sourdough bread, thickly sliced, drizzled with olive oil, and broiled till closely toasted or warmed pita bread
-
For the Tomato Salad: Alter oven rack to center place and preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). In a 10-inch chrome steel skillet or on a small rimmed eighth- or quarter-sheet pan, mix tomatoes with olive oil, season calmly with salt and pepper, and shake pan to evenly coat tomatoes with oil. Switch to oven and roast till tomato skins simply start to shrivel and break up, 20 to 25 minutes. Put aside to chill for at the least 10 minutes.
-
Switch tomatoes and the entire juices that amassed within the baking sheet (or skillet) to a medium bowl with parsley, olives, anchovy, and crimson pepper flakes. Utilizing a spoon, gently stir to mix, season to style with salt and pepper, and put aside (salad might be lined and neglected at room temperature for as much as 2 hours, or refrigerated in an hermetic container for as much as 2 days).
-
For the White Bean Dip: Whereas the tomatoes are roasting, place lemon juice in a small bowl. Utilizing a Microplane, finely grate the garlic and instantly add to the lemon juice (alternatively, you need to use a garlic press or finely mince the garlic with a knife). Put aside for 10 minutes.
-
Within the bowl of a meals processor, mix beans, bean cooking liquid, and garlic-lemon juice combination. Course of beans, scraping down sides of meals processor bowl as wanted with a rubber spatula, right into a largely {smooth} paste, about 1 minute. With meals processor operating, slowly stream in olive oil, and proceed to course of till combination may be very {smooth}, about 3 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to style and regulate consistency with further bean cooking liquid if crucial. Bean dip might be served instantly or refrigerated in an hermetic container for as much as 1 week.
-
For Serving: Switch bean dip to giant, extensive serving bowl and use again of enormous spoon to unfold bean dip up sides of bowl, leaving effectively at heart. Spoon tomato salad in heart of effectively. Serve with bread.
Particular Gear
Rimmed quarter baking sheet or 10-inch chrome steel skillet, meals processor
Notes
Cooked dried beans (and their cooking liquid) have significantly better taste and texture than canned beans, so we extremely advocate utilizing them on this recipe, if attainable.
If utilizing canned beans, substitute bean cooking liquid with 1 tablespoon (15ml) scorching water, including extra as wanted to attain the specified consistency. Canned beans will not purée as easily as cooked dried beans, however utilizing scorching water helps obtain a smoother texture.
Make-Forward and Storage
The white bean dip might be refrigerated in an hermetic container for as much as 1 week. The tomato salad might be refrigerated in an hermetic container for as much as 2 days. Deliver each to room temperature earlier than serving.