Another White Bean Dip!

chef mimi

Last year, for the first in my whole life, I started seeing pumpkin hummus recipes all over the place. And it kind of made me mad. Because why hadn’t I thought of this?

I love pumpkin. And I thought I’d made just about everything possible with pumpkin. When my kids were young I was very adept at sneaking pumpkin into so many different kinds of dishes, because to me, it was just another vegetable that would boost the nutritional value of whatever I was “hiding” it in, whether is was soups or stews or pancakes or oatmeal. Sometimes things got a little orange, but kids aren’t as scared of orange as they are green.

But even now, with kids grown and gone, I still use a lot of canned pumpkin, but I never thought about adding it to hummus! Why not?

I’ve presented white bean dips on my blog before, because I honestly prefer them to hummus. I love a good hummus, with the lemon and tahini additions. But with white bean dip, there’s just so much more that you can do. My favorite ways are a spicy version using cumin, coriander, and cayenne, that was actually published in Gourmet magazine, and an herby way I make white bean dip in the summer, using fresh rosemary. Those seem to be the most popular variations for which I get requests from my family. But now I’m going to have to add another to that list. Pumpkin White Bean Dip. Well, actually butternut squash.

Oh, this might not be a popular statement, but I also prefer white beans over garbanzos. They process smoother; they’re never pasty or dry.

What I use for my white bean dips are canned white beans. I typically buy great Northern beans, but you can opt for the more expensive canellini beans just as well. The only rule is that they must be well rinsed and drained before using. And a good olive oil is also a must.

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And for today’s dip, the inclusion butternut squash, first roasted for extra flavor.

So here’s what I did.

White Bean Dip made with Butternut Squash

A chunk of peeled butternut squash, about 10 ounces
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 – 15 ounce can of white beans, rinsed and well-drained

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2 cloves garlic, peeled, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
More olive oil
Pita chips for serving

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

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Place the butternut squash in some foil. I actually used 4 thick slices from the non-seedy part of the squash. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the foil packet in the oven for a couple of hours. There should be some caramelization on the squash. I could have roasted it a simply in an open dish, but I didn’t want the squash to dry out. When you’re done it should look about like this.

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Let the squash cool, then place it in the food processor jar. Add the drained beans, garlic, cumin, and salt.

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Process until smooth, adding a little olive oil at a time. White bean dip should be soft and smooth, but not runny. It also shouldn’t be pasty thick. That’s why I always pour in oil slowly. You can’t overprocess the dip; if anything, it will just get smoother. So take your time doing it. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dip out into a serving bowl.

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It’s a really good dip with pita crisps.

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For a little color, I sprinkled some paprika on the top, but this is completely optional. Enjoy!

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Note: This dip can be doubled or tripled. I always serve white bean dips within a couple hours of making them.

verdict: Like I said above in the post, this will be one of the top favorite requested dips in my house, as soon as everyone has tried it. I think the roasted butternut squash made a significant difference, but I’ll try it once with canned pumpkin or canned sweet potatoes just to see.

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