White beans make a kind of hummus

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 28, 2004

For family or guests, for appetizers or snacks, here’s a special spread that may look like hummus and has the texture of hummus – but is made with an unusual combination of ingredients. Cannellini beans, the white Italian kidney beans, give substance balanced by the juiciness of sweet green grapes, bound with olive oil and seasoned with basil and oregano.

Recipe developer Jane Morimoto says the recipe could be made with any canned or cooked beans, but she chose cannellini beans because she’s noticed them recently in restaurant recipes and finds them readily available in supermarkets. “They also seemed to be softer and easier to puree or mash,” she said, adding that she likes what seems to her a more subtle flavor of white beans compared with some of the colored ones.

Serve the spread with lavosh, crackers or thinly sliced bread for hors d’oeuvres, or serve with bread in place of butter, she suggests.

Grape cannellini bean spread

1/2cup seedless green grapes

116-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1tablespoon olive oil

1tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves

1 1/2teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

1/2teaspoon garlic salt

1/4teaspoon ground black pepper

Finely chop grapes using food processor or blender. Drain grapes and reserve excess liquid. Puree beans and oil together using food processor or blender. If beans are too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the reserved grape liquid. Mix chopped grapes, pureed beans, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Serve in small bowl.

Cook’s tips: 1 teaspoon dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano may be substituted for fresh. Two tablespoons chopped parsley may be added for color. One 16-ounce can white beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked dried white beans may be substituted for cannellini beans.