The first thing I do when I get
the Wednesday paper is head for the Food Section, and open it up to the
Special Request recipe for the week (a local restaurant recipe
requested by a happy customer, and kindly supplied by the restaurateur). A couple
of weeks ago the recipe looked rather dull. I sighed. Mr. O-P peered at me over
the top of the Sports Section.
"“Is it disappointing this week?” he asked.
"“Cannellini Bean Dip,” I replied.
"“What's in it?” he asked, grumbling over last night's losing score.
"“Essentially beans, garlic, and lemon juice. How can that possibly be any good? The requester said it was 'addicting’.”"
He pulled a face. “Sounds rather insipid,” he offered, and then added, “How many cans should I get?”"
Am I that transparent? I directed him to get only one can because I had decided to cut both the recipe and my losses in half. This just had to be bland, and I didn't want to waste anything more than was necessary, and I was going to use crackers that I had on hand rather than spring for pita chips, or try to make my own from pizza dough. This recipe, I reasoned, could not possibly be worth the effort to do more.
Boy, was I wrong. It is delicious, and addicting? Oh, yeah! Frankly, I couldn't believe it. Neither of us could. It was just too quick, too easy, and too inexpensive to be anything exceptional, and yet, it was. Step aside hummus (Unless, of course, it is Basil Hummus!) and make way for Cannellini Bean Dip. Yummy!
"“Is it disappointing this week?” he asked.
"“Cannellini Bean Dip,” I replied.
"“What's in it?” he asked, grumbling over last night's losing score.
"“Essentially beans, garlic, and lemon juice. How can that possibly be any good? The requester said it was 'addicting’.”"
He pulled a face. “Sounds rather insipid,” he offered, and then added, “How many cans should I get?”"
Am I that transparent? I directed him to get only one can because I had decided to cut both the recipe and my losses in half. This just had to be bland, and I didn't want to waste anything more than was necessary, and I was going to use crackers that I had on hand rather than spring for pita chips, or try to make my own from pizza dough. This recipe, I reasoned, could not possibly be worth the effort to do more.
Boy, was I wrong. It is delicious, and addicting? Oh, yeah! Frankly, I couldn't believe it. Neither of us could. It was just too quick, too easy, and too inexpensive to be anything exceptional, and yet, it was. Step aside hummus (Unless, of course, it is Basil Hummus!) and make way for Cannellini Bean Dip. Yummy!
Katie's Pizza Cannellini Bean Dip
As seen in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
1 large clove garlic
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini
beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2½ tablespoons fresh
lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt
½ tablespoon pepper
Kalamata olives and fresh basil,
for serving
Freshly baked pizza points or
pitas, for serving (I just used crackers and it was still delish)
In a food processor, mince
garlic until fine. Add beans, oil, lemon
juice, salt and pepper and process until smooth and creamy but still retaining
some texture.
Cover and refrigerate to allow
flavors to meld for a minimum of 4 hours.
To serve Katie’s Pizza-style,
fill 2 small ramekins with bean dip, top each ramekin with 3 kalamata olives
and a basil leaf. Place ramekins on each end of a rectangular platter, mounding
pizza points between.
Yield: Makes 2 generous cups
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7 comments:
I've not made cannellini beans into dip, but I love them in soup. I'd be fighting you with one of those pizza points for the kalamata olive.
When we subscribed to the Houston Chronicle, I couldn't wait for Food Section day. I missed Ann Criswell's warm and chatty posts until Greg Morago came along. I fell in love with him reading his Mother's Day post in 2013. We no longer subscribe, but now I get to enjoy your wonderfully written posts every day!
You are so funny! There were three of us eating the dip that night, so three kalamata olives. I do love a good olive. And I also love this dip. I could not believe how good it was. Like you, I like the beans in soup, but never imagined they would be good in dip, and how much healthier this surely must be than those dips with sour cream and mayonnaise, although they are good too. What I liked about this was just how fast it went together. Thanks for the nice words about reading my blog. I appreciate it very much that you do.
I am laughing about your husband peering over the newspaper, asking how many cans he should get while shopping! I love cannellini beans, so will be trying this today. You always share such good recipes and I thank you for that, Pattie.
Have a great week.
Ha, oh Pattie, I laughed all through this post, and came away in a cannellini bean dip believer! The beans have been on my to do list for a long time, I've never cooked with them, and this looks like a great place to start! I could just picture you and your husband over breakfast, so fun!
Jenna
Bean dips are my fave and love how easy they are to make.
lol, love it that you made it even if you thought it wouldn't be good! Thank you for sharing the recipe with us at the Brag About It link party!
I absolutely love this! Pinned and tweeted. Thank you so much for bringing such a masterpiece to our party. I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm. We can’t wait to party with you! Lou Lou Girls
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