Simple Bread Spreads: White Bean

I received this very As-Seen-On-TV spinning/pulling/chopping gadget for Christmas. While the device definitely does not chop neatly enough for most uses, I've discovered it minces like magic, and provides a 'rustic' (not entirely smooth) puree in moments.

So here's the first little dip I made recently: white bean with olive oil. It's super easy -- just don't get too laissez faire and or your liable to forget, for example, all of the parsley.

White Bean Dip with Parsley Oil (or just oil, in my case)

Food & Wine magazine

Ingredients

• 1 C dried white beans (I used navy, which always confuse me because I expect them to be blue)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and fresh pepper
• 1 C flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 C celery leaves

Cover the beans with 2 inches of water in a saucepan. Add garlic, thyme and bay. Bring to a boil, then simmering for about two hours, stirring occasionally and adding water to maintain level.

Drain, reserving 1/3 C of the cooking liquid. Remove herbs, and transfer beans, garlic, cooking liquid and 1/4 C of the olive oil to a food processor. Puree. Season with salt and pepper. Here's where I used the spinning/chopping gadget (officially the Chef'n VeggiChop). It worked perfectly, and was way less mess than the food processor.

Very finely mince the parsley and celery leaves, then add to the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the white bean dip to a shallow bowl, and pour olive oil mixture on top. Or, if you have forgotten the entire part about parsley, just top with plain olive oil and season with extra salt and pepper.