Roasted garlic and white bean dip
Our traditional Christmas (if you can call doing the same thing for the past 4 years traditional) is to drink until we pass out. Okay, not really, although each year I do tend to have a wee nap in the middle of the afternoon. For the past few years, we’ve had an “orphan’s Christmas”. We don’t have any family in Melbourne, so we spend the day with some friends who are also Christmas orphans.
Each year there’s lots of food, lots of wine, a bit of cricket and my nap in the middle of the afternoon. There’s always tons of food left over, and this year, I decided to make nibbles rather than food for a full meal.
One of the items I made was a roasted garlic and white bean dip. This dip is all about the garlic, and baby, is it good! I adapted the recipe from the current issue of Donna Hay Magazine – essentially I halved the recipe except for the garlic and onion. If you don’t like garlic as much as us, just halve the garlic and onion.
The dip is very garlicky, but as it’s roasted it’s not overpoweringly so. It gets a lovely mellow, buttery and sweet taste.
PS: The basil came from my garden which is why it looks a little sad. My plants are still alive (!) except for the coriander which expired as soon as we got some hot weather. Stupid coriander.
Roasted garlic and white bean dip
Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 36, Dec/Jan 2008
2 heads garlic
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
400g can white (cannellini) beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
Slice the tops off the garlic, and place with the onion and oil on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and toass to coat. Roast for 25 minutes or until the garlic is soft.
Let it cool slightly, then squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins into a food processor. Add the onion, beans, lemon juice, basil, salt and pepper and process until smooth.
Serve with crudites or bread sticks and crackers.
claire
December 31, 2007 @ 11:15 am
Mmmm, that garlicky dip looks and sounds gooood. We had a fantastic garlicky prawn “pate” on Christmas day – I’ll add the recipe to my Christmas post next time I’m at Mum’s. Glad to hear you had a nice orphan’s Christmas! 🙂
I am, however, discouraged to read about your coriander. Having no green thumbs, I recently started my very first herb garden (basil x2, lemon thyme, sage, Italian parsley, Vietnamese mint) which somehow I haven’t managed to kill yet. I really wanted to include coriander as it is the fresh herb I love most, but was told that it rolls over and gives up the ghost at the drop of a hat (how’s that for mixed metaphors!). Sadly, it seems your post confirms this – is it really pointless to GYO coriander here in Melbourne?
Agnes
January 1, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
I’m glad that I’m not the only one with no green thumbs. 🙂 This was the second time I tried to grow coriander – and it was a dismal failure yet again. So it appears (at least for me) that it *is* pointless to grow my own coriander!
Happily, my other plants (basil, rosemary, thyme, mint and a habereno chilli) are growing really well, although the snails seem pretty keen on my basil.
I hope that your herb garden grows well! I find it so exciting to grow things I can eat. I would so love to have a veggie patch and fruit trees!
Penelope
January 16, 2008 @ 2:07 am
Thanks for this delicious recipe! I just wanted to let you know that I’ve linked to this post from my party planning blog. Check out our site for party planning tips, free online invitations and food & drink ideas.
Keep up the good work!
Penelope
Agnes
January 16, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
Hi Penelope – thanks for the comment and the link! 🙂