White Bean Dip With Cumin-Chile Oil
Updated Dec. 9, 2024
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2 to 3garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
- 2(15-ounce) cans cannellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ½cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Warm water
- 2teaspoons cumin seeds
- ½teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, for garnish
- Flaky sea salt, for garnish
- Chips, crackers, breadsticks, crostini or vegetables, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
In a food processor or blender, blend garlic, lemon juice, salt and drained white beans until chunky but combined. With the motor running, drizzle ½ cup olive oil through the feed tube and process until blended, but not entirely smooth. Pulse in warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is thick and scoopable but not runny. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice as needed.
- Step 2
In a small skillet over medium heat, combine remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and cumin seeds. Heat until cumin seeds smell toasted and pop in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Step 3
Spoon dip into a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to make swirls. Drizzle the cumin oil over the dip. Garnish with crushed red pepper, lemon zest and flaky sea salt.
Private Notes
Comments
Ron - Couple things: Drain, rinse and let the canned beans dry out for a few minutes. Pulse the food processor rather than running constantly and open to check consistency. Add oil (as this will not make it runny) and check if you like texture. Only if it's too thick add some bits of warm water at the end. And never use cornstarch to thicken unless you will be heating it later (like gravy) or it can have an aftertaste.
We make a similar version here using dried split fava beans or, even better, cicerchia--a wild heritage legume related to chickpeas but more flavorful, and which must be salted and pre-soaked for 24 hours. Either way, cooking them at home (as opposed to canned beans) allows us add garlic to the pot, which infuses the beans and avoids raw garlic in the dip--a no-go zone for most Italians. Not a 15-minute recipe as such, but virtually all of the time is unattended.
This is what I make whenever we have people over for a meal or party. I started making my own "hummus" with cannellini beans, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil (and some seasonings) years ago because my granddaughter is allergic to sesame. I use cannellini beans so that it is distinct from hummus. I love it, my family loves it, and guests enjoy it too. I've also been making bagels and challah - for same reason: I can make those without sesame sees.
This was a nice change from hummus, and everyone liked it. That said, next time I make it I'm going to try some minor changes: Let the beans drain longer (I was in a rush); mix some ground cumin directly into the beans in addition to making the cumin oil; increase the amount of lemon zest and red pepper flakes. I might also experiment with alternatives to the latter, maybe Aleppo pepper or Urfa biber.
I followed the recipe and added the 1/2 cup oil while the dip was in the food processor. This ended up tasting like way too much olive oil - the flavor was coming through extremely strongly. I ended up having to add a can of cooked chickpeas, figuring well if I can't take the oil back out, I can at least dilute it. I would add 3 Tbs of olive oil, taste, and then go up from there one Tbs at a time. I also added some ras al hanout and Aleppo pepper, since I thought it needed more flavor.
At the risk of sounding obnoxiously privileged, primarily due to my retirement status, which offers me a lot more time, making this with Rancho Gordo beans I simmered myself after sautéing some celery and onion and fresh thyme, really enhanced the flavor of this dip
Always better with home-cooked beans!