White Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
This is the kind of savory bean spread that turns up in deli cases across Europe with no one country claiming it: a can of white beans, a handful of dried tomatoes, and whatever herb is on the shelf. Cannellini blend into the smoothest cream of any white bean, sun-dried tomatoes bring a concentrated savory-sweetness that does the work salt usually would, and a few toasted walnuts add a richness that reads like oil without any. Use dry-packed tomatoes rather than the oil-soaked jar and save their soaking water to blend back in. Simmer the garlic soft first so three cloves flavor the bowl without a raw bite. Serve it on whole grain toast or with raw vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Cannellini beans, cooked or canned, drained
- 1/3 cup Sun-dried tomatoes, dry-packed, not in oil
- 3 tbsp Walnuts, toasted
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Thyme, fresh leaves
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water and soak 15 minutes until pliable, then keep the soaking water. Dry-packed tomatoes carry all their flavor and none of the oil the jarred kind sit in, and the rusty soaking liquid is seasoning you will blend back in.
- Simmer the whole garlic cloves in the tomato soaking water until soft, about 10 minutes. Cooking the garlic through trades its raw bite for a mellow sweetness, so a full three cloves flavor the spread without turning it harsh.
- Blend the beans, drained tomatoes, garlic, walnuts, thyme, lemon juice, and black pepper, loosening with the reserved soaking water until smooth and scoopable. The walnuts add a faint richness that reads like oil, and the beans give a body that holds on bread or a cracker.
- Taste and adjust with lemon, not salt. The concentrated tomatoes bring their own savory-sweet depth, and a second squeeze of lemon is what sharpens it, so let acid do the lifting that salt usually would.
- Rest the spread 20 minutes before serving to let the thyme and garlic settle into the beans. Like most bean purees it firms as it sits, so thin it with a spoonful of water if it tightens past scoopable.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 130 calories, 6 g protein, 4 g fiber, 140 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
