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
