Culinate

White Bean Dip with Herbs and Roasted Garlic

By Carrie Floyd, from the Culinate Kitchen collection
Serves 6 to 8
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Yield 2 cups

Introduction

I was inspired to make this after reading Kelly Myers’ column about using fresh herbs to elevate the ordinary. For the herbs in this dish, I like a blend of mostly parsley and chives, with a wee bit of thyme, sage, and/or rosemary thrown in. Serve this dip with fresh veggies and/or pita chips for a snack, or make it with less liquid to yield a thicker spread for sandwiches.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked white beans, with some cooking liquid
¼ cup finely chopped fresh herbs
~ Zest and juice of 1 lemon
5 roasted garlic cloves (see Note)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
~ Freshly ground black pepper
~ Carrot sticks, red pepper strips, and/or pita chips for serving

Steps

  1. Place the beans, herbs, lemon zest and juice, roasted garlic cloves, olive oil, and salt in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, adding enough of the cooking liquid from the beans to reach the consistency you like (more for a dip, as little as possible for a sandwich spread).
  2. Season to taste with extra salt and freshly ground pepper. Spoon into a bowl and serve.

Notes

If I’m roasting potatoes or chicken, I often roast garlic at the same time, then store it in the fridge for another use. If you don’t have any roasted garlic on hand, do this: Place unpeeled garlic cloves in a small, ovenproof dish and cook in a preheated 375-degree oven until soft and pulpy, about 20 to 30 minutes.

This content is from the Culinate Kitchen collection.