A great snack dip for any occasion.  It’s super versatile and is great with cut up veggies, crackers, chips or as a spread on sandwiches/wraps.  It’s kinda like hummus so it’s not too radical for the traditional type, but it’s pretty darn healthy to appease those crunchy types with most likely an allergy or self proclaimed intolerance to dairy, gluten, nuts, preservatives, etc etc.  Now I’m not down playing those who actually have a clinical allergy to any of these things, but for the most part, people are just picky.  So hears a recipe that should please them, or at least it’s an easy way to try.

You’ll need a food processor or worst case ontario, a blender, if you want it pretty much pureed to a fairly smooth consistency.  If you don’t have a fancy kitchen gadget then it’s also really yummy semi mashed with larger chunks of bean like you could manage with a fork or the back of a wooden spoon.  If you are not using the food processor, you’ll need to chop up or mince the garlic, parsley & thyme before mixing with the other ingredients.  

The size of this recipe can easily be halved for just a small at home snack, or doubled for a much larger gathering, but this batch makes approximately 3-4 cups of dip and it was more than enough for the 10-15 person gathering I was at last night.  

Ingredients:
2 cans (14ish oz each) Cannellini Beans – Drained but not rinsed
1 medium size clove of garlic – cut into quarters if using food processor, minced if not
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1/4 – 1/3 cup of lemon juice – (I used 1.5 meyer lemons squeezed)
1/4 cup of whole flat parsley leaves – finely chopped if not using food processor
1-2 tsp dried or 1-2 Tbsp fresh Thyme – finely chopped or crushed if not using food processor
salt & pepper to taste

Now what?
Add all BUT the lemon and thyme to the food processor.  Pulse until everything looks fairy mixed and pureed to the consistency you want.  If you don’t mind it being further pureed, add in half of the lemon juice and half of the thyme.  Pulse until well combined.  If you are happy with the consistency, use a spatula to scoop it all out of the processor and into a medium sized bowl.  If this is the technique you choose, be sure to have finely chopped the thyme.  Pour in half of the lemon juice and the same for the thyme.  Stir until well combined.  

See if the lemon and thyme taste is strong enough.  If not slowly add in the rest a little at a time, stirring/pulsing the processor to combine each time until it’s to the flavor of your liking.  Add salt & pepper also to taste making sure well combined.  

Scoop into a serving bowl, chop up some veggies or put out some chips or crackers and bada bing, you’re done!  

Suggestions:
This is such a great basic recipe that you can mix up every time.  I really want to try it with chopped Kalamata or fancy green olives.  You could probably throw in some feta with that leaving the beans only partially squished and make it a fancy addition to any dinner party.  You could also bring it down a notch and add in some siracha or other hot sauce (in this event I would skip the lemon and thyme).  How about making it a warmed variation of spinach and artichoke?  Mix in some chopped artichoke hearts, steamed spinach, a little dash of hot sauce or pepper flakes and some parmesan, cheddar or romano cheese.  Pop it in a nice oven friendly serving dish and stick it in the oven for a 10 minutes @350.  Yum!  I’m all ready to make it again next weekend!

Tried it and have a question or comment?  Have a new variation that’s not listed here?  Share it with us!