Total Time

　　10 minutes

　　Fantastic in emergencies and reason enough to stock canned beans in your pantry. Serve as a dip for bread-sticks, pita or other bread, or raw vegetables.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings

　　2 cups drained cooked or canned cannellini or other white beans, still moist and liquid reserved

　　2 garlic cloves, peeled, or to taste

　　1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for drizzling

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　2 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste

　　Fresh lemon juice to taste

　　1/4 cup chopped shallot, red onion, or scallion for garnish, optional

　　

Step 1

Put the beans in a food processor with the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. Turn the machine on and process until the mixture is smooth, stopping and scraping down the sides if necessary and adding a bit more bean liquid or olive oil if necessary.

　　

Step 2

Taste and adjust the seasoning—add more garlic, salt, pepper, or cumin if you like—then transfer to a bowl. Add lemon juice a tablespoon at a time, until quite tart, then garnish with the chopped shallot if you like. Use immediately or refrigerate for a day or two. Bring back to room temperature before serving. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a little more cumin (or some paprika) before serving.

　　

Nutrition Per Serving

Per serving: 140.0 calories

　　60.0 calories from fat

　　7.0g total fat

　　1.0g saturated fat

　　0.0mg cholesterol

　　5.0mg sodium

　　14.0g total carbs

　　3.0g dietary fiber

　　0.0g sugars

　　5.0g protein

　　#### Nutritional analysis provided by [TasteBook

　　using the USDA Nutrition Database]( )

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.