Pesto White Bean Dip

Its been a really busy week. A little bit stressful but full of learning opportunities. Yesterday I catered an event for 35 people. It was my first time doing something like that! I came up with a menu for morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea. It was a vegetarian menu with gluten free and vegan options. There was a lot of prepping throughout the week, and it all came together yesterday. My mom and I were in the kitchen all day getting all the food out. (Thanks for helping mom, I couldn’t have done it without you!!). We got some great feedback and I’m feeling proud of what we accomplished. I was so nervous leading up to the event!

One of the dishes that went over really well was this super simple Pesto White Bean Dip. I needed a quick savoury dish to go along with a mostly ‘sweet’ morning tea. This came together in like two minutes flat. I love using the Vitamix blender for making dips like this. I left it on about level 5 speed so the dip would be thoroughly blended but not completely smooth. This Pesto White Bean dip is so creamy and flavourful. I used regular pesto for this event, but I would love to try it with a vegan pesto. I have a few recipes for dairy-free pesto that I think could be used like this one or this one

I hope you’ll give this dip a try at your next party or event. This makes a big batch, so I would cut it in half if you’re looking to serve just a few people.

Pesto White Bean Dip

• 2 x 19 fl oz (540ml) cans white kidney beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
• zest and juice of a lemon
• heaping 1/2 cup pesto
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender. Process until well-blended but some texture/chunks remain. I prefer this dip not to be perfectly smooth. Serve with crackers, veggies, or on toasted bread as crostini.

Also…on Monday I am going to an event with Joe from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, and author of two books and creator of the reboot with Joe program. Funnily enough, I’m selling juices and juice cleanses that I am referring to as three day reboots….great minds think alike! Anyway, if you can think of any questions you’d like me to ask Joe, I would love to hear your thoughts! He is definitely a leader in the juicing and clean eating community.