This Lidia Bastianich recipe was made famous when Mark Bittman shared it in the NY Times a couple years back. It is terrific just as it's written here, but is so versatile it's easy to make your own. I added the lemon juice and rolled back the garlic from the original, but I can imagine it with a little more EVOO and maybe some chicken stock added and gently heated on the stove to make a warm bead dip to serve up on a cold night. YUM!
The fact is, white beans are a pretty blank slate to which you can add all sorts of culinary colors. Switch up the herbs, add some cumin or pimenton….how about a little preserved lemon or chopped chipotle peppers? See what I mean, have fun with this one. It would be an awesome addition to a holiday cocktail party spread served up with crudité or some toasted baguette as I've done here.
Cheers – Steve
Ingredients
- 1 - 15.5 ounce can white beans such as cannelini or great northern
- 1 medium sized garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup EVOO, plus more for drizzling
- 3 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Drain the beans through a fine meshed sieve set over a small bowl or measuring cup. Dump the beans in your food processor and reserve the liquid in case you need it to loosen your spread later. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt to the beans and process. With the motor running, slowly pour the EVOO through the feed tube and continue to blitz until smooth.
- Remove the purée to a bowl, add the rosemary, lemon zest and lemon juice and stir to incorporate. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, or more lemon. Add some of the bean liquid if you'd like a looser spread.
- Drizzle with a little more of the EVOO, top with a rosemary sprig and dot the top with a few flakes of maldon sea salt (if you happen to have any laying about). Serve slathered on toasted baguette slices or spread on your favorite crackers.