If you have ever visited Romania, you’ve eaten fasole bătută — mashed white beans with garlic and oil. It’s a fasting dish, served as a starter with caramelized onions on top. Simple, cheap, and deeply rooted in our food culture.
This recipe is a variation on that same idea. The base stays the same — white beans, garlic, oil — but the direction changes. Instead of caramelized onions, we add sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. Instead of sticking strictly to traditional flavors, we add fresh basil and a squeeze of lemon. It’s a combination inspired by Tuscan cooking, but adapted in the style of the quick recipes I publish on this blog — all you need is a food processor (or a decent blender), good ingredients, and ten minutes at most.
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Ingredients
- 1 can (~400 g) white cannellini beans, drained and washed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3–4 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (about 30–40 g), drained
- 6 large fresh basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste (see notes)
Instructions
Add the beans, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil to a food processor or blender. Blend for about a minute until smooth, then stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula. If the mixture is too thick, add a little cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and basil leaves. Pulse a few times — short bursts, not continuous — depending on how fine you want the texture. Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice if needed.
Serve right away or after chilling briefly. Drizzle a little olive oil on top before serving.
Notes
Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil are often very salty. I start with just one or two, blend, and if it's not salty enough, I add another tomato rather than reaching for the salt.
If the dip is too thick, add cold water one tablespoon at a time. An alternative is to use ice cubes instead of water — the ice crystals help create a creamier texture. Be aware, though, that ice dulls food processor blades. If your machine can handle it, go with ice. If not, cold water gives an equally good result.
I don't recommend topping this with caramelized onions the way we traditionally do with classic fasole bătută. The flavor is already full, and an extra layer would cover what the sun-dried tomatoes and basil bring.
The dip can be stored for two to three days in the fridge. It does not freeze well.