the Great Recipe Experiment: #7-Red Pepper Cannellini Dip

Imagine a scenario, if you will, in which you need to feed a few people. Like, oh, I don’t know, 5000 people or so. On a beach. Near Bethsaida. And like, these people are really hungry, right, because it’s late and this is way back a couple thousand years before the invention of segways and nobody wants to walk back to town on an empty stomach. And it’s okay, because you’ve got the food to feed these people, you’ve got…five loaves of bread and two fish. It’s like an embarrassment of…what? You don’t think it’s enough? Dude, it’ll be totally fine, just add one more thing to this meal and the people will be sated. All you need is…

no, not love. This is a recipe post, not a Beatles soundtrack. All you need is this roasted red pepper and cannellini bean dip—and the people will rejoice.

This is another in the long line of recipe experiments I have going, which my coworker Susan and others were nice enough to sign up to try. Making this stuff is, on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, somewhere between “fall asleep while meditating” and “eat cookie.” No lie. I did feel it needed a bit more than the recipe indicated, though, so at Josh’s suggestion I added another clove of garlic and at my suggestion, I added a tablespoon of dried oregano. I think it would be especially delicious with a good dash of hot sauce thrown in, which I will probably do when I make it again this weekend, but that may not be good for the weaker-stomached amongst us.

Either way, the dip is delicious, easy to make, easy to scale, easy to manipulate and add flavors to and really good for you. I really think I’m going to make and keep a batch this weekend for using as a sandwich spread. I mean, this spread thickly on a good loaf of bread with some roasted turkey, cucumbers, arugula and red onions….well now I’m hungry again.

Roasted Red Pepper and Cannellini Bean Dip
adapted from Cooking Light

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 (16-ounce) can no salt added cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano

Put beans, basil, vinegar, peppers, garlic and oregano in a food processor. Place top on the processor and blend, drizzling in oil slowly. Process until smooth and then stir in salt and pepper.

And that’s it. Good for appetizers, snacks, sandwich spreads, eating rolled up in lawash wraps with some lettuce and veggies…whatever moves you.