Harvest of the Month

White Bean and Fennel Dip

This is a great alternative to hummus and goes well with any veggie platter for dipping.

Ingredients:

For Roasted Fennel

• 1 Large or 2 Small Fennel Bulbs, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 Cloves Garlic still in papery shell
• 1 pinch Salt and Pepper (more to taste)

For the Cannellini Bean puree

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 Garlic Cloves, Peeled and minced
• 2 1/2 cups Cooked Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, Chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon Lemon juice, Freshly squeezed

Preparation:
First make the roasted fennel. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the fennel and garlic cloves and spread on a sheet pan. Spray lightly with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning twice during cooking. Take out and let cool. When cool squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins.

Start the cannellini bean puree. In a small frying pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and cook until lightly golden, add ground fennel seeds, rosemary and cannellini beans and cook for one minute more. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Take it off the heat. In a food processor combine the garlic bean mixture, fennel, roasted garlic, lemon juice, remaining olive oil. Puree until smooth. Serve with veggie sticks or whole grain crackers.

Makes: 1 ½ cups of dip.
Prep Time: 10 minutes active (30-40 for roasting)
Recipe: Adapted from Food52.com Test Kitchen.