Thursday 8 September 2011

Rosemary Lemon White Bean Dip



Hey everyone!

Today is the third day of school for my older kids - they were tired this morning! The jitters and excitement have worn off already and they just wanted to sleep in this morning... the weekend will come soon enough my babies! Its strange having Boy1 off at school all day. The days seem very long... My littlest boy has been okay at home with me though. He's been finding things to play on his own and helping in the kitchen. I'm sure it really won't take long before he's tired of being home, just the two of us, and will want to have someone to play with. I'm going to have to come up with a bunch of fun things for him to do... better kick my brain into gear!

I'm really hoping to be able to post more often, now that my days are spend at home. It means (in theory...) that I have more time to tweak/test out recipes and sit down and write!

This recipe for white bean dip is really tasty. I love dip. And I love the fresh flavours in this one - fragrant rosemary and tart lemon with a creamy backdrop. Mmmm! And the best part about making something like this is that you can eat the whole batch all by yourself (count yourself lucky if you don't have to bat off 4 extra hands trying to steal your precious dip!) and you really don't have to feel guilty about it! It's healthy and full of fiber and protein. Grab a bowl of veggies for dipping, slather it on a piece of GF bread, eat it by the spoonful or do all three!




Rosemary Lemon White Bean Dip

1 can navy beans, drained (rinse if using beans packed with salt - read your labels!)
half a lemon, zested and juiced
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp rosemary olive oil* or plain olive oil
**

Place bean in food processor and pulse until they start to come together.
Add in lemon zest, juice, rosemary and s&p. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
With the processor running, slowly add in olive oil and blend until incorporated.
Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving - its even better after sitting overnight (if you can wait that long!)

*make rosemary olive oil by packing rosemary into a jar and topping with olive oil. Allow it to steep for about a week before using.
**if you love garlic, I'm sure you could throw a clove or two in and you would find it delicious :)

My little guy is allergic to lemon, but I find the small amount of juice and zest doesn't bother him. I can't give him a glass of lemonade without consequences, but a little bit once in a while doesn't effect him. I'm going to try making a batch with balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice and see how it turns out - should be good!

2 comments:

  1. yum! I'm totally going to make this on the weekend. So easy. (and we all know I love dip).

    Lately I've been seeing that some canned foods are labelled with "BPA-free lining". Do you know anything about this? Is it important?

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  2. Yum indeed!!!

    I buy the Eden Organic beans in the BPA-free tins. They are cheaper than some other brands when I get them at Organic Garage and they don't have added salt or other yucky things. I would steer away from BPA (we know how they were removing it from baby's bottles) whenever possible. I think cans without that on the label do contain BPA but I'm not totally sure about levels and whatnot... I shall look into it!

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