Tuscanbeandip Recipes

TUSCAN SAUSAGE & BEAN DIP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large skillet, cook sausage, onion and garlic over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up sausage into crumbles; drain. Stir in wine, oregano, salt and thyme. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is almost evaporated., Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Stir in spinach, beans and tomatoes; cook and stir until spinach is wilted. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish; if using an ovenproof skillet, leave in skillet. Sprinkle with cheeses., Bake until bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Serve with crackers.

TUSCAN MASHED CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Pour the chickpeas into a colander and rinse them under cold running water. Drain well. Place the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the chicken stock and pulse until the chickpeas are coarsely pureed.
• In a medium (10-inch) saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomato and saute for 3 to 4 minutes, until the tomato is softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chickpeas, stirring to combine with the tomatoes and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and taste for seasonings. Pile in a serving bowl, drizzle with extra olive oil, and serve with shards of grilled country bread.

WHITE BEAN DIP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400.
• Use a sharp knife and trim the top 1/3" - 1/2" of the head of garlic. Place the garlic in a small piece of tin foil (use the trimmed pieces as well) Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Seal up the tin foil and roast for 30 minutes or until garlic is very tender. Remove from oven and let the garlic rest until it's cool enough to handle. Remove the garlic cloves from the peel and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium high heat until the oil starts to moire and is hot but not smoking. Turn off the heat and immediately add the chopped herbs. The oil will sizzle because of the freshness of the herbs. Swirl the pan so that the herbs are completely coated with the hot oil and set aside.
• Drain the cannellini beans in a mesh strainer, but DO NOT RINSE THE BEANS. Discard the bean liquid. Transfer the beans to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until the beans resemble a chunky dip.
• To the bean mixture, add the oil and herb mixture, kosher salt, and lemon juice. Pulse 4 to 5 times to incorporate the ingredients. Add the garlic and lemon juice and pulse to puree the roasted garlic.
• Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and pulse 2-3 times to combine.
• Transfer the white bean dip to a serving bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top of the dip and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve with pita chips or fresh crudite.

TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• For the beans, Cut the pancetta into 1 inch thick slices, 2 inches long.
• In a large stock pot, cook the pancetta over medium heat until golden brown in color, then add the quartered onion, whole garlic cloves, and cook a couple of minutes in the oil rendered from the pancetta.
• Add the beans (drained), bay leaf, and 12 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for about an hour and a half, or until the beans are almost tender.
• Remove from the heat, cover and let site 30 minutes.
• Drain the beans reserving the cooking water, and remove the bay leaf, onion, and garlic cloves.
• For the soup, heat the oil in the stock pot, and once hot add the onions, celery and carrots and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
• Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, then add the cooked beans, rosemary sprig, and 5 cups of the cooking liquid.
• Cook on low for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the rosemary sprig and discard.
• Remove 1/3 of the bean mixture and pulse in a food processor until creamy.
• Alternately, you could use a wand blender and blend part of the beans.
• Return the pureed beans to the pot, and mix.
• Serve the soup in bowls, with a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkling of cracked black pepper on each.
• Sprinkle a little fresh herbs just before serving.

TUSCAN BEAN DIP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Lay bread on a baking sheet. Rub each slice with a clove of garlic and sprinkle with a pinch of salt; reserve garlic clove. Toast in oven until golden, about 8 minutes.
• Chop all garlic cloves. Cook garlic in the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until it is golden, about 3 minutes. Pull skillet from heat; stir in rosemary and red pepper and cool slightly.
• Put beans, the 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and all but 1 teaspoon of the rosemary oil in a food processor and process until smooth. Scrape puree into a serving bowl and drizzle with reserved rosemary oil. Serve with toasted baguette and, if desired, raw vegetables.