Now That's Italian! (Hummus)

Ok, so as not to leave my regular readers hanging, this is part two of my post from a few weeks ago, Pita CHiPs - the white bean dip. Also from Giada De Laurentis' Everyday Italian, she describes it as Italian hummus, and it basically is (if you look just right).  Using cannellini beans instead of garbanzo or chick peas (see Joanie Loves Chi Chi for further info), and a little garlic, lemon juice and parsley and a dip with a twist is born. I actually liked it better than traditional hummus, but I like everything that is Italian more than anything else. Italian sausage, Italian meatballs, Italian restaurants, Italian Stallion. Well, you get the point. The Julia child thought it was too heavy on the garlic (she may have been switched at birth, just sayin'), but everyone else at the dinner party raved. My work here is done.

"That's Italian!" The kitschy tag line from the iconic Ragu spaghetti sauce commercial of the 1970s. Ah, nothing says authentic Italian cuisine like Italian-Americans celebrating their great melting pot ethnicity by eating Nana's homemade sauce. Oh, wait, no it's crap from a jar. Wah, wah, wah....

The Recipe:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 (15-ounce) can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the beans, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse on and off until the mixture is coarsely chopped. With the machine running, gradually mix in the olive oil until the mixture is creamy.  Serve with pita chips (that you made, not some store bought crap). The dip can be made a day in advance and refrigerated.  6 appetizer servings (I'd double it if i were you, it's just that good).

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