Monday, November 8, 2010

Beans

I love beans - much to my boyfriends disgust - he doesn't really dig my hippy bean meals.  I love that they're a cozy pantry staple, and can be a meal on their own, or an accompaniment.

Last Saturday I had some friends round to enjoy our shade dappled backyard with drinks and nibbles.

I made some home made hummus and another bean dip.  Now I'm sure everyone knows how to make hummus, but this was the second time I'd made some and I was really happy with the results.

Hummus - my style
2 cans chickpeas
5 cloves garlic chopped in half and skinned
A few springs of rosemary
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pour out the juice from one can of chickpeas and leave one can with about half the juice.  Pop in a food processor.
Get a heavy based pan going with the oil, garlic and rosemary.  Cook the garlic till it starts to go brown and squish it down a bit to make sure it's nice and soft.
Pour this into the food processor and blend with additional oil till you get your desired consistency.
Don't forget to season.

Borlotti chilli dip
2 cans of borlotti beans
1 chilli chopped
Teaspoon of sugar
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Do the same as above with the beans - and pour into food processor.
Fry off the chilli in oil then stir in the sugar and continue to fry gently for a bit.
Throw into the borlotti beans mix and combine.

Bruschetta
French bread
Olive oil
Pastry brush

Cut the bread into 1-2 cm wide chunks and place on a tray.
Turn on your grill.  Warm the oil in the pan you've been using for the above.
Brush the warm oil over the bread and grill till lightly browned.
I only did one side, as I found this made the bread crispy, but still had a softness so it didn't shatter when you were trying to eat it.

I served the above with a bowl of rocket dressed with a little oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice.

I sadly have no pictures - but next time I make it I will take some and include fun cocktail recipes to quench your thirst.

xx