I'm not sure if I'm the only one noticing, but I've seen and fallen in love with fancy crudite boards at local restaurants recently.
Two of my favorites- one from D'Jeet in Shrewsbury (pictured 1st below) and the other from Nicholas Barrel & Roost (pictured 2nd below). The former was one of my first times ordering a crudite to share. I loved the textures, flavors and just overall appeal of this light and bright offering. At D'Jeet, they pair it with an olive tampenade, crunchy vegetables and plate it all on a very rustic slab of wood. It's just lovely. The latter, from Barrel & Roost, is a bit more indulgent and fancy, if you will. In fact, it's titled on the menu as "NOT My Grandma's Crudite"! The hummus is a piquillo pepper variety and what surrounds that is simply admirable. Battered string beans, flash-fried brussel sprouts, raw, pickled AND roasted vegetables......enough said, right?!? So good. As is the first one, it's just that this one is like a hummus platter on steroids.
So now that I realized I have a "thing" for fancy dipping platters, I set out to make my own. Lucky me, I found a can of cannellini beans in the pantry and was doing a Shoprite run that day. With the help of Love & Lemons, I whipped this dip up in a snap. I took ideas from each platter I mentioned above and went with accompaniments I love----grilled pita bread being my #1. That, I say, is a must for any hummus dipping board. The veggies can be whatever you prefer. I didn't fry any or get too nuts with preparing them though. Not that I didn't want to, it's just that the 3 littles who call me Momma had other afternoon plans. :)
Anyways, I for sure recommend this dip. Super light, very alive in flavor from the lemons and fresh herbs. I plan on eating it for the next few days, whether on a platter or schmeared on a veggie wrap. As for the little ones eating it......the first words said were, "yuckity yuck", so there's your answer. Maybe you'll have better luck. For me, I'm totally fine with eating the "yuckity yuck" for the foreseeable future.
Enjoy......
Herb-y White Bean Dip
Slightly adapted from: Love & Lemons via The Clever Meal
Serves: 6- 8
Ingredients:
1, 15.5 ounce, can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS fresh basil leaves, torn, about 4-6 leaves
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
2 -4 TBS water
Assortments to dip with:
sliced red bell pepper
sliced cucumber
thinly sliced radishes
carrot strips
pickled cauliflower, or italian mixed giardiniera
zucchini rounds
grilled or toasted pita bread, cut into 'pizza slices'
In a food processor, pulse the beans, olive oil, basil, rosemary, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper until combined.
With the food processor running, slowly add 2 TBS of the water and process until smooth. If still too thick, add additional water - 1 TBS at a time. Process until smoothness desired.
Spoon into bowl and serve with accompaniments on a platter or place in a covered container and place into refrigerator until ready to serve.
Before serving, drizzle a bit of olive oil for garnish.
Enjoy!
