White Bean & Basil Dip

Did you know beans can reduce your cholesterol? I've found several delicious bean dips, and I've thrown away all my fat and cholesterol laden sour cream based dips.

This bean dip makes a delicious low fat and low calorie appetizer. I adapted delicious recipe from one in Full of Beans. I increased the amount of basil and garlic; I decreased salt and I add a little water to the dip. I serve this with thinly sliced french bread.

The recipe makes about 2 cups of dip. How many this serves depends on how many other dips, chips and treats you lay out on the table.

Lucia

Ingredients

2 cups white beans, drained and rinsed.
1 1/2 cups packed fresh basil.
4 cloves garlic, minced.
2 T olive oil.
1/4 to 3/2 cup water.
1/2 t salt.
1/4 t freshly ground pepper.

Procedure

Place all ingredients except water in a food processor. Process until the dip reaches a smooth dip-like consistency. If the dip is not smooth enough, add another 1/4 cup water. Process some more. If the dip is still not smooth, add the other 1/4 c water and process again. (You can also make the dip smoother by adding more olive oil. I'm sure this dip would be delicious with tons of oil -- but it would start to be fairly high calorie!)

Spoon dip out of processor and place in a serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. To serve, spread on sliced french bread.