From A Past Edition Of The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris White Bean And Roasted Garlic Dip My wife had something like this at Del Porto, a delightful little Northern Italian cafe in Covington. She asked me to make it. This did not come out exactly the same as theirs, but it's similarly good. 1/2 lb. cannellini (Great Northern) beans 1 quart chicken stock 2 small carrots 2 ribs celery, cut up 1 tsp. crushed red pepper 1 bay leaf 1 head garlic, peeled 1 Tbs. olive oil 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 Tbs. salt 1. Sort the beans and soak overnight. 2. Put the beans in a pot with the chicken stock plus a quart of water. Add the carrots, celery, red pepper, bay leaf, and half the garlic. Bring the pot to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cook the beans for an hour, then cool for about 15 minutes. Add more water to the pot if the beans begin to look dry. 3. While the beans are cooking, heat the 1 Tbs. of olive oil in a saucepan over very low heat. Crush the reserved garlic cloves and add to the saucepan. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring the garlic now and then. Do not allow to brown, although the color will get tan after awhile. 4. Remove the carrots and bay leaf from the beans, and drain the remaining water. Puree the beans in a food processor; it may be necessary to do this in batches. 5. Add the roasted garlic from the pan to the last batch in the food processor, along with the extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar and salt. Puree until smooth. If you pureed more than one batch of beans, combine them with this last batch and stir well in a bowl. Check seasonings, and add salt and Tabasco to taste. Serve barely warm with pita chips. A nice garnish: anchovies or capers. Click here for an index of recipes from past editions. © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com