White Bean & Garlic Puree

I have wonderful friends. And am lucky enough that they are all fantastic cooks and love to eat. So we have a lot of potlucks. Which is why it was so great when Mrs. Monkey gave me "The Big Book of Potluck" (by Maryana Vollstedt) for my birthday. (Wait, what was she trying to tell me?!)

I've tried a few things out of it, with good success.

Last night our potluck had an Italian theme. So I found an appetizer in the book that said it was perfect for such an event. And it was! This White Bean and Garlic Puree was perfect with the roasted veggies with Italian sausage, semolina gnocchi, baked ziti, and good wine served at the party.

Here's what you need:
1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
(I used Great Northern Beans)
1 large clove garlic, coarsely chopped
Leaves from one sprig of fresh rosemary (mine's from the yard!)
(the recipe calls for basil and parsley, but I think rosemary is way better!)
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Put all this in a food processor and blend until smooth. Then put it in a bowl to refrigerate for a few hours.

Take it out of the fridge to warm up to room temp before serving.

Serve it with some crostini:

Slice a baguette. Brush both sides of the slices with a little olive oil. Broil on each side to brown them up a bit.

While I liked this spread all-around, I think the best part was the rosemary and the nice hint of balsamic - so don't skip that ingredient!