It’s monday. My knuckles have that dry, annoying itchy thing going on. Husband is drugged and asleep on the couch next to me. Once in a while he wakes and says something about Christmas and smugglers. I’ve had chipped neon yellow nail polish on my fingernails for over a week. My daughter has figured out the joy of wheeled toys, while my head has not. I’ve been the single parent on-duty, plus on-call nurse, for what seems like an eternity.
But, on the brighter side, I found some time during various Husband and Lucy naps to cook. And I successfully navigated Trader Joe’s on a sunday, although I not-so-successfully escaped with entirely too much food that will not fit in my freezer nor my pantry.
One of these items that just wouldn’t fit was a can of beans: cannelinni, to be exact. And they’re the main ingredient in this delicious dip. It’s full of roasted garlic and is a must for dipping veggies, bread, or for spreading on crackers. Think hummus but lighter in flavor, more garlicky and without the richness that tahini provides.
Cannelinni beans (a.k.a. white kidney beans) should be available from your local grocer. If you can’t find them, garbanzo beans or navy beans would do just fine. You’ll need one can, rinsed and drained.
Also grab three or four sprigs of parsley and one head of roasted garlic. See my handy-dandy reference guide on how to roast garlic right here.
Place the beans, parsley, and roasted garlic cloves (just squeeze ‘em out of their little garlic skins) in a small food processor or blender. A regular-sized food processor would work if you’re willing to make a double batch.
Season with salt and pepper and add 1/3 cup of olive oil.
If you look very closely at the upper left-hand corner, you can behold the glory that is my nail polish.
Pulse and blend for a few minutes until you have a uniform consistency. You may have to pause and scrape down the sides a few times, as this makes for a fairly thick mixture.
Once it’s well-blended you’re done! So easy, fairly healthy (we’ll call olive oil a good fat), and tastes fresh and light.
I love, love, love this dip. It’s light and yet deeply flavored from the roasted garlic—a pretty awesome combo. Plus, it’s yummy for whatever your dipping needs require.
Except baklava. That might taste weird.
You could also use it in as a sandwich spread or in place of mayo in a chicken salad. Ooh! Or on a gyro or falafel!
Damn it. Now I’m hungry.
Speaking of hunger, I’m always on the hunt for snack foods in my fridge. And a funny thing happens when I have dip on hand: I actually consider vegetables snacks.
I take one look at that gorgeous dip, chop up some carrots…
…and dive right in. Miraculously, this also prevents me from snacking on cheesecake and potato chips.
Alright. That was a total lie. I snack on this stuff in addition to cheesecake and potato chips.
I have problems.
I’m trying to decide what letters this photo is trying to depict. CA? CO? CE? It’s definitely a C followed by some sort of vowel.
Happy monday! Make dip. And send me good thoughts. I’m going to need them to get through another day of nursing and mothering. And nursing. And mothering. And nursing….
-RDG
White Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip
- 1 can cannellinni beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
- 3-4 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 head roasted garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Add all ingredients to a small food processor or blender and mix until uniform. Serve with cut vegetables, bread, crackers, or as a spread.
