Marisa McClellan’s Blank Slate White Bean Dip with Apple Chutney

As noted in my previous post, Food in Jar’s Marisa McClellan just published her fourth book: The Food in Jars Kitchen.

You can read more about that book here, but in sum, the book is filled with recipes to help you use up the many jars of jams, chutneys, and pickles you may have in your pantry. One of those such recipes is this “blank slate white bean dip”, which she especially loves swirled with pesto but also with chutney, harissa, or marinated peppers.

Having just made her “adaptable chutney,” I went that route and was so pleased with the result: a creamy dip brightened both in flavor and texture by the sweet-sharp chutney. I’ve been eating it with carrot sticks and endive spears, but I could imagine spreading it across a tortilla and making some sort of wrap with roasted red peppers and arugula? Right? Will report back on that one.

Marisa notes in the recipe: “Truly think of this dip as your blank slate. I can imagine a version, built on the same bones, made with black beans, lime, and a few tablespoons of really thick homemade salsa. Another easy variation is to add a whole head of roasted garlic along with the marinated peppers. And if you ever find yourself with a surplus of homemade chimichurri sauce, use that in place of the pesto. Delicious!”

It all sounds so good. Here’s the play-by-play:

Open up a can of white beans or start from scratch with dried.

Soak the beans overnight. I’m partial to the Cook’s Illustrated brining method.

Cook the beans.

Freeze or refrigerate beans in their cooking liquid until ready to use. These quart containers are handy for this.

Place beans, lemon zest, juice, garlic, and salt into a food processor. Purée until smooth; then add olive oil and purée again.

Add a quarter cup (or more to taste) of chutney and process again until smooth.

Serve with raw vegetables (or crackers or bread) of your choice.

Marisa McClellan’s The Food in Jars Kitchen:

Marisa McClellan’s White Bean Spread with Apple Chutney

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: alexandra
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups

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Description

From Marisa McClellan’s The Food in Jars Kitchen.

Note from Marisa: “Truly think of this dip as your blank slate. I can imagine a version, built on the same bones, made with black beans, lime, and a few tablespoons of really thick homemade salsa. Another easy variation is to add a whole head of roasted garlic along with the marinated peppers. And if you ever find yourself with a surplus of homemade chimichurri sauce, use that in place of the pesto. Delicious!”

I love cooking beans from scratch. Refer to this post if you would like to, too: How to Cook Beans and Legumes From Scratch

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Ingredients

• one 15.5-oz (439 g) can white beans, drained, or 1.75 cups (290 g) cooked beans
• 1 garlic clove
• grated zest and juice from one lemon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• fresh pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chutney, pesto, harissa, or chopped marinated red peppers
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water, optional

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Instructions

Combine the beans, garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the processor 7 or 8 times to begin to break up the beans and garlic. With the motor running, stream in the olive oil. Finally, pulse in the chutney. If the spread appears quite thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time to help loosen it up. Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Spread/Dip
• Method: Food Processor
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: white beans, dip, spread, chutney, appetizer