Herb White Bean Spread
This is a creamy delicious spread. It is similar to hummus, but instead of garbanzo beans we use cannellini beans and some herbs. Perfect for spreading on crusty Italian bread or on crackers. Originally served as part of: Pasta with Chard.
Ingredients
- 19 ounces canned beans cannellini (drained and rinsed)
- 1 medium lemon
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and smashed)
- salt & pepper
- 1 tablespoon mix of basil, lemon thyme, oregano thyme, chives herbs (cleaned and picked off stems)
- ½ cup divided water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- hot pepper flakes
Instructions
We use our blender tonight to make this spread, but next time we will try our food processor (and then just half the water) since it was a bit of a challenge to get this smooth!
In our blender, we put the cannellini beans. We rinse and pat dry our lemon and then zest it right into the blender with our microplane grater. We then cut the lemon in half and juice it into a measuring cup. We remove the seeds and measure the juice. We add the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the blender. Next we add the garlic clove, a little salt and pepper, the herbs (snipping the chives with a scissor), and a little of the water. We put on the cover for the blender, and start blending. We slowly add the rest of the water and stop the machine every so often to jam the beans down. When it is almost all pureed, we add the olive oil and blend until smooth. We taste for seasoning and adjust.
We pour the spread into a flat bowl and top with more salt and pepper, and some red pepper flakes.
Ingredients
- 1 medium lemon
- 19 oz canned cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and smashed)
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh basil, lemon thyme, oregano thyme and chives (leaves picked)
- ½ cup water (half that in a food processor)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- hot pepper flakes
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Grown-up
Rinse and dry the lemon and zest it on the microplane straight into a blender (a food processor makes this easier). Juice it, remove the seeds, and measure 2 tablespoons.
Kid job
Add the beans, lemon juice, garlic, a little salt and pepper, and the herbs to the blender, snipping the chives in with scissors.
Blend, adding the water slowly and stopping now and then to push the beans down. When almost smooth, add the oil and blend until smooth. Taste.
Kid job
Spread in a flat bowl and top with salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Serve with crusty bread or crackers.