BUTTERBEAN HUMMUS
Usually, I’m a hummus purist, but I’ll make an exception for this butterbean hummus, it’s pretty special.
Butterbeans are creamy bean, so in turn the dip is creamy and luxurious feeling. I don’t put as much tahini as I’d put in a chickpea hummus because butterbeans are a bit more subtle in flavour. I also haven’t included garlic in the recipe, I was making this for a friend’s birthday party and was asked to keep the garlic to a minimum and it’s still delicious.
If you do want to add garlic, fresh might be quite strong as the dip is delicate. I have used a drizzle of oil from confit garlic that worked beautifully. Wild garlic is also in season right now, just add a little in (to taste).
Just a note on beans, I like to use dried butterbeans that I soak, and then cook with bay leaves and salt, but if you’re short on time or don’t want the faff, jarred or tinned make a quick and easy alternative.
I’ve included the recipe for confit garlic below.
BUTTER BEAN HUMMUS
serve 4 as part of a mezze
480g butterbeans – cooked (240g dried)
4 bay leaves, optional
40g olive oil
50g lemon juice
5g salt
70g tahini
50g approximately water – I used the cooking water from the beans
If you’re cooking dry butterbeans, soak them overnight. Drain and rinse, place in a large pan with a lid, cover with plenty of water, the bay leaves and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Put the lid on, bring to a boil and turn it down to simmer for about an hour, until soft to bite.
Let them cool, and drain, reserving some water for blending.
Weigh out all the ingredients except the water into a blender, add less water to start, you just want to enough to get the blender going, blend on high speed to create a creamy consistency, adding more water if necessary.
Transfer to a bowl and finish with olive oil and fresh dill, I like a little sprinkle of zaatar too.
CONFIT GARLIC
2 bulbs garlic
-optional herbs or spices; 3 bay leaves, 2 sprig thyme, 10 black peppercorns
Cold pressed rapeseed oil
Peel the garlic, and leave the cloves whole. A good trick here to speed things up, cover the garlic with boiling water and leave for a couple of minutes, drain and peel. This helps the skins slide off easier.
In a small pan, place the garlic and chosen herbs/spices. Cover with oil, I use cold pressed rapeseed but you can also use olive oil.
Using your smallest hob on the lowest heat, let the pan very gently simmer for 40 mins to an hour, cook until deep golden and very tender. You don’t want the oil to boil just a very gentle simmer, if you have a heat diffuser then you can use that to get the temperature down even more. Let cool and transfer to a jar, store in the fridge for up to a month.
