I recently discovered a love for cannellini beans. They created an ‘aha!’ moment in my brain: you don’t necessarily need heavy whipping cream to make things creamy. “Thank you!!” cried my bottom. “Thank you,” cried my thighs. “Thank you!” cried my left ventricle. Seriously–puree some of these babies, and you could fool your own grandma with this creamy asparagus soup or this cilantro lime bean soup.
Anyway, when I saw this simple dip recipe that uses cannellini beans as its main ingredient, I grinned and put it on the menu. Me and those beans, we got an understandin,’ see. It’s a winner, and the fact that my old friend ‘garlic’ was also a main feature only strengthened my resolve to make it.
By the way, if you’re into the whole food blogging scene you should really take a few minutes to browse through Tracy’s blog, Sugarcrafter. She’s got great stuff on there, from this winning dip to Margarita Bars to Jambalaya to everything you could think of making with Nutella, her recent obsession.
Nutella . . . yes, it was also my obsession in Paris 7 years ago, and it led to some really, really embarassing pictures that I absolutely can’t share.
Okay, fine. I’ll share.
Phew–am I ever glad to be out of my late teens/early twenties! They taught me the meaning of ‘bacne,’ a horrible word which I shall never ever again repeat crossmyhearthopetodie, pokeyourmotherintheeye. I also realized in very recent years that plastering my hair against my head in a shrinkwrapped version of the bun was not an extremely attractive way to fix my hair. One day I’ll share a picture-based history of my hairdos and by the end you’ll be scratching your scalp and pulling our your eyebrows–it’s bad. And it will cause you physical and emotional pain to walk through it with me.
Alright, enough about my misspent hair-youth, and on to the main feature!
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cups olive oil
1 TBS lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Drain and rinse the can of beans to get rid of that nasty thick viscous liquid . . .
Aah, much better. Though please ignore the dirty dishes in the background. I don’t know who they belong to . . . but they’re definitely not mine. Nope. I don’t recognize a single one of those perps.
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Those of you without a food processor (present company included) toss it all in a blender.
Yeah, I didn’t bother to mince the garlic. And I used 6 cloves instead of 2–you would do well to do the same. I regularly triple the garlic in recipes–it’s Who I Am.
Blend or process until combined.
I liked the fact that my blender left some chunks–I like a dip with texture.
Serve it with crostini (or any kind of tiny toast), pita chips, flatbread, crackers, or just scoop it out with your finger. I know I did.
This dip is seriously delicious. Garlicky, lemony, not too spicy but definitely with heaps of flavor. And did anyone see how easy that was to make? Tracy, you’re a genius.
I loved encountering random unprocessed beans, such as this little guy:
I should also point out that I had garlic breath all night long . . . and I woke up with more garlic breath. I breathed it all over my husband when I gave him a morning kiss, and then I recklessly breathed it all over the morning commuters on the El. So don’t make this for your own wedding or anything–unless you have a garlic-loving groom.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Click here for printer-friendly version: White Bean Garlic Dip
I love this post. Whew, it was long, but well worth the time to read it all. I thank you and my human’s gut & butt thank you too!
Sandy
http://www.sandysays1.wordpress.com
PS – Very well written
yum! and p.s. i find that beans puree better in my blender than my food processor… maybe because the blender is newer and more powerful. 🙂 so you ain’t missing out! i love the word ain’t. hahaha
If you have a Trader Joe’s near you they sell the French creme fraiche. A little of this could give that creamier smooth taste, but the original recipe looks great! I too, love dips like this with all that garlic..yummy! The after effects though leave me a bit isolated as I don’t want to offend anyone that might be in smelling distance.
Jenna, do you realize you nearly made hummus? Only thing missing is tahini! And the beans are different but to me, a bean is a bean. Anyway, judging by how much I adore hummus, I can already tell you I’d love this. Thanks!
I had so much fun reading this post! I’m so glad you enjoyed the dip, and I have to agree with you that next time I will at least double the garlic. I also can’t wait to try cannellini beans in other things to make them creamy…what a fantastic idea!!
Oh and the nutella picture…priceless. 😉
Oh and I almost forgot…thanks so much for the shout-out! You are too sweet!! 🙂
What? No food processor yet? I thought you were getting one, or going to look for one at rummage!!! …or was it that Aunt Jacquie had offered you one…. I can’t remember. Dip does look yummy!
What a great post! You are hysterical! I would love to make this dip, it looks fantastic 🙂
Me. Wantttttttttt.
I really want to eat this with carrots. I don’t know why. But it’s like the dip is calling to me:
“Aaaaaamyyyyyy…eat us with carrrrrrrottttttts. It’ll be sooo goooooooooood.”
What a great looking recipe Jenna! Thanks so much for sharing. And as always, LOVELY photos!!!
Lovin’ it Jenna! I love a random stray bean as well. That being said, get thyself a food processor!! You won’t regret it. 🙂
This looks so good! You’ve actually got me started on a white bean craze myself. There have been multiple pureed white bean and veggie soups in my house in the past couple of weeks, and I blame you. However, with the 100 degree weather, I think soups are going to have to wait for a couple of months. Time for dip!
And that Nutella picture brings back so many good memories. What a silly, crazy night that was!
I had some pix that included you and Vessie, but none of us look anything close to what you would call ‘great’ in those shots, so I kept them to myself. =)
I appreciate your restraint. 🙂
I just want you to know that after seeing the Nutella Picture (yes, that needs to be capitalized), my respect and admiration for you has only deepened. You’re my new role model.
Deepened respect!?!? Wow. I thought the picture would scare people away. Then again, you’re the one that posted pictures of a dead mole on your blog, so I guess not much can frighten you after that little monster. =)
Jenna, this was an awesome choice for “the woman in the window!” Love it!
Cool, I’m glad you think so! It’s the recipe that immediately came to mind because of the simplicity of ingredients, and the prevalence of garlic in Mediterranean cuisine (which is what the picture brought to my mind).
Thank you for adding this link to my “Lady In The Window” post. If this is what she makes it is no wonder she has time to sit in the window.
Tis looks seriously delicious I love all kind of bean dips.
Thanks for stopping by! Your picture was beautiful, and it’s been stuck in my mind ever since I saw it this morning.