Garlic Scape Bean Dip

Image courtesy of Creative Commons 

Today in the kitchen we whipped up a batch of this garlic scapes bean dip. The staff and volunteers here at Our Greener Village Community Food Centre stepped up to their secondary jobs as "official taste tasters" for all things that came out of the kitchen. This dip passed with flying colours and it's definitely a kitchen keeper.

The original recipe came from the New York Times but we tweaked it a bit. Here's our version of Garlic Scapes Bean Dip.

Need to know what a garlic scape is? Check out our "Know Your Ingredients" column on the subject.


Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup sliced garlic scapes (3 to 4) 
• zest of one lemon, very finely grated or minced.
• 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice (the bottled juice is kind of flat in this recipe) 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch ground black pepper 
• pinch red cayenne pepper OR a couple of shakes of Tabasco or other hot sauce 
• 2 cups of white beans, cooked until very soft OR 1-15 oz (398 ml) can white or cannelli beans rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 Tablespoons water (as needed) 

Directions: 

1. In a food processor, process garlic scapes with lemon juice, salt, pepper, lemon zest and hot sauce until finely chopped.

2. Add beans and process until it's a rough puree. 

3. With the motor running, slowly drizzle oil through the feed tube and process until smooth. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water until you have a nice dip consistency. 

4. Check seasons and adjust to taste. 

Zucchini Chips

Zucchini Chips in the dehydrator 

Zucchini chips are an interesting texture addition on top of a soup. Tomorrow we're making a curried zucchini soup and these will be floated on top of the bowls as they are served -- just a little punch of visual appeal. Leftovers can be stored in the freezer -- if they last that long. It's hard to stop eating at just one.





Zucchini Chips 

2 lbs (1 kg) small zucchinis, washed and sliced thinly (1/8" thick or so)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions: 

Mix olive oil, curry powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add zucchini slices and toss until coated with oil mixture. Place in a single layer on dehyrdrator pans and dry overnight.

No Dehydrator?? Not a problem. You can accomplish the same thing by blotting the zucchini slices with paper towel to dry as much surface water as you can. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the zucchini in a single layer on a large rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 2 hours or until the zucchini is reduced by about two-thirds of it's original size. It will still be moist and you will need to store the chips in the freezer in a freezer bag. They should last about 6 months without any problem. They are great for soups and stews.