Caprese Salad Bean Dip

So it went something like this.

My Husband: “Can you make some sort of appetizer.”
Me: “Sure.”
My Husband: “What are you going to make?”
Me: “I’m not sure.”

When it comes to appetizers, that is usually how it goes. We are hungry, and we have nothing planned. What do we do? Search the fridge and pantry to see what we have and what might go well together. Sometimes its a success, and well, other times we do not blog about it. ;-) Regardless, appetizers are a great place to experiment with different ingredients, and throw things together. If your experiment doesn’t turn out, no worries, you still have a full dinner ahead!

Since I still had an abundance of fresh basil, I decided to make that the focal point of my appetizer. All I had for a base were crackers, so I decided I should make some sort of spread-like dip, in which case, I found a can of cannellini beans which makes for a good “dip” base. The rest goes something like this:

1 can cannellini beans
½ cup packed basil leaves
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
⅛ cup olive oil
a few shakes of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
**squeeze of lemon

Add all ingredients to food processor except for olive oil and puree for about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Process again and slowly drizzle in olive oil. Process until it is a creamy consistency.

Serve with sliced tomatoes and crackers, slices of toasted baguette, or whatever you desire. Have your guest spread the dip on the cracker or baguette, top with a tomato, and try to eat some before your husband devours it all!

**When I made this I did not add any lemon (surprisingly, since I add lemon to almost everything!) but wish I had.