Looking for the perfect hors d’oeuvre or appetizer? Cannellini-Pesto Spread may be your answer. It’s quite easy to make and very tasty and satisfying. Here is some background on the cannellini bean, which was popularized in Italy. I also enjoy using the spread as a luncheon dish.

Rinse beans before cooking. Place 1 cup of beans in a large pot with 4-6 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any foam.

In the meantime, peel and halve the onion. Peel the garlic cloves and crush lightly. Add the onion and garlic to the simmering beans along with the bay leaf, thyme, salt, and olive oil.

Beans, onions, and herbs.

Continue to simmer partially covered for about 90 minutes or until the beans are very tender.

Cooked beans.

Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the onion, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Place the beans in a food processor.

Drained beans in a food processor.

Process the beans  until smooth.

The processed beans.

Add the pesto to the beans in the food processor, and continue to process until well blended. You may want to adjust the amount of pesto to your own taste.

Add the pesto.

Taste for seasoning.

If the mixture is too thick and pasty, add a bit of the cooking liquid and process until combined. You could, of course, simplify the recipe by using canned cannellini beans, but the taste of home-cooked beans is far superior and involves little extra effort.

Serve the Cannellini-Pesto Spread warm or at room temperature on hot, crusty slices of bread. Alternatively, the spread could be used as a dip.

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