appetizer: white bean and roasted garlic dip
A few months ago, I moved into my own place. One of the conditions of the apartments I chose was that I had to be able to fit in a dining table, no matter how small. 8 years in NYC and I’ve spent the majority of them eating on my desk, lap, coffee table or even standing sometimes. I dunno, maybe it’s just me getting older and my tastes becoming ever so refined, but I can’t help but want the luxury of eating my meals sitting upright with a table built to the exact height of my sitting stance. Call me high maintenance why don’t you. So, my new place is little, but it’s mine and through thorough planning, I was able to fit a small dining table (seats 6!…um, tightly) and a couch too! - albeit a loveseat. Still, I sigh contently everytime I open my front door and my little place eagerly greets me with a loving, “Welcome home! We’ve missed you!” (that’s the collective voice of my apartment and furniture).
Since my place is too small to have a housewarming party, I decided to invite small groups of friends over for dinner to show them my new digs in the form of, wait for it. Wait for it. A DINNER PARTY. Man, am I an adult or what? This is the perfect time to try out new recipes. I recently bought The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger and she has a lot of really great recipes. This is one of them. I made some minor tweaks, so I guess it’s adapted from Ellie Krieger.
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Makes about 1 cup, maybe 1 1/2 cups…I kind of can’t remember
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 whole garlic head
1 (16-ounce) cans canellini beans or other white beans
Juice of one lemon, I also added the zest
Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 375°
- Cut the top third of the garlic head off so tops of cloves are exposed. Place in aluminum foil, drizzle with 1Tbsp olive oil and close at the top like a satchel. Put it on an oven-safe pan in case the oil drips. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover the foil so that the top is exposed and bake until the garlic cloves are soft and golden brown, another 30–40 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes before touching.
- Rince the beans.
- In a food processor, combine the beans, roasted garlic, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and lemon juice/zest and process until smooth. Add the salt and pepper.
- Great with pita chips or just crusty bread.
