White Bean Dip

I dusted off this oldie-but-goodie the other weekend when Husband told me at 8:00pm that he needed an appetizer to take to a work party the following afternoon.  Isn't that the sort of stunt your kids are supposed to pull ("I need 48 cupcakes for the fourth-grade bake sale tomorrow morning!"), not your full-grown Husband?  He offered to just buy something at the store on his way, but I told him I'd rise to the occasion.  This dip is easy because I always have the ingredients on hand.  I've doubled the original amounts since it didn't make that much, but exact measurements aren't necessary. You can be careless and taste-test throughout.  This dip can be served hot, cold, or room temperature.  So what I'm really saying is that there's no real way to mess it up.

A note about the garlic: when deciding how much to include, err on the side of less.  I'm a garlic fanatic, but I've been played for a fool by this recipe in the past.  It will sneak up on you, and all of a sudden you have wicked Garlic Dragon Breath.  Also, I like to do use both roasted (for a deeper, more subtle flavor) and fresh (to provide a little sharpness).  The original recipe just called for fresh, so any combination would work.

Ingredients

2 or 3 15 oz cans cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed and drained [any white bean could work]

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons plain yogurt

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley [or substitute a few big shakes of dried]

1 teaspoon black pepper [approximate]

1 teaspoon kosher salt [approximate]

Hot pepper sauce [Tabasco], to taste

4-6 garlic cloves

olive oil [if roasting the garlic]

Pita bread, chips, or vegetables for dipping

Directions

1) To roast garlic, separate desired number of cloves from bulb, leaving them in their peels.  Make a packet out of aluminum foil, put the cloves in, and drizzle them with olive oil.  Seal packet and put on the middle oven rack at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

2) Add beans, lemon juice, yogurt, parsley, pepper, salt and hot sauce to the food processor bowl.

3) Take whatever garlic you're using, fresh or roasted, and remove peels from each clove.  Smash so they're slightly broken up and add to food processor bowl.  Process mixture until it's a smooth consistency.

4) Do a taste test and adjust ingredients accordingly for desired result.

Kid Participation:

* Add ingredients to food processor bowl.

* Smash garlic cloves.

* Push buttons on food processor (if you're so inclined).