Makes 1½ cups dip.
This tomato-packed bean concoction is a summery dip delight. Use sungold tomatoes, and the color will stay light; but if you use red tomatoes, it will become a gorgeous dark red/orange hue. Using fresh beans makes a major difference — you should cook them with a handful of cumin and coriander (find instructions here), which can be pureed in with everything else. Roast plenty of shallots and garlic with your tomatoes (instructions for that live here — and we recommend more shallots than garlic for this particular use), as they add savory sweetness to the whole shebang.
- 2 CUPS FRESHLY COOKED WHITE BEANS (LIKE CANNELLINI OR GIGANTE)
- 1 CUP ROASTED TOMATOES
- 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL (FROM THE ROASTED TOMATOES)
- ¼ CUP ROASTED SHALLOTS AND GARLIC (FROM THE ROASTED TOMATOES)
- SEA SALT
- LEMON
- ¼ CUP BEAN COOKING LIQUID
- OLIVE OIL, AS NEEDED
INSTRUCTIONS
In a blender, combine the beans with the roasted tomatoes, tomato roasting oil, shallots and garlic and season with a good pinch of salt. Add a squeeze of lemon and puree. The tomatoes will provide a good bit of liquid, but you’ll likely need to add a few splashes of bean cooking liquid and possibly some more olive oil to make things really silky smooth…but don’t add liquid too quickly, because there’s no going back if this gets too thin.Once it’s totally smooth, taste and adjust salt and acid as necessary; this dip needs a good bit of salt and often a solid dose of lemon to hit its maximum flavor potential.
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