Saturday, March 19, 2011

Recipe - Tuscan White Bean Spread


I tried this recipe on Thursday and was quite happy with how it turned out. It's the first recipe that I've tried from this cookbook. There are several other recipes I am anxious to try from the cookbook, especially their Sweet Potato Falafel.

I would call this recipe an Italian hummus. But, unlike hummus, white beans are softer and easier to blend than garbanzos. Plus, this spread doesn’t have any nuts/seeds in it (hummus has tahini/sesame seed paste), so according to my calculations, it is a lower calorie dip. The sage in this dip is what makes it. The cookbook suggests spreading this on Italian bread, topping it with roasted red peppers, fresh tomato slices, or grilled portabellos. I ate mine with Triscuits, and it was still very tasty.

Tuscan White Bean Spread
Makes about 2 cups

2 cups cooked white beans (Great Northern or cannellini)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
Sea salt

Puree the beans in a food processor. Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and stir constantly until the onions develop a light, golden brown color. To the pureed beans in the food processor, add the cooked onions and garlic, lemon juice, and remaining olive oil. Puree all the ingredients. Add sage and sea salt to taste. Adjust the seasonings. Adjust the thickness with water.

Tips:
  1. Soak white beans overnight, and boil them yourself. Not only is it cheaper, the taste and texture is so much better, plus you avoid chemicals associated with canning.
  2. The spread was easy to puree once I added the lemon juice and oil, so don’t feel like the beans have to be perfectly pureed at the beginning. They will have the opportunity to breakdown after you add the lemon juice and oil.

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