White Bean Puree on Grilled Sliced Baguette

Ingredients

Cooking Directions

Soak the fresh beans overnight, or for a quick soak bring the beans to a boil, covering the beans by 4 inches; then turn off the heat and let sit for an hour. Then drain and rinse under cool water. Pour the beans back into a stockpot.

Fill a large stockpot with cool water, covering the beans by 4 inches. Do not add salt to the water, as this will make the beans tough. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a gentle boil, cover, and cook until the beans are tender, usually 90 minutes for soaked beans (2 hours or more for beans that haven't been soaked). Taste test to see if the beans are tender. If they're not yet tender, cook until they are, checking every 15 minutes. Be careful to not overcook, or the beans will fall apart. If the beans have soaked up so much water while cooking that they're no longer covered by at least 4 inches of water, add more water.

Place the beans, 3/4 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon salt if using canned beans), pepper to taste, scallion, and lemon juice in a food processor. Start to slowly add the oil, and process until smooth. Adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.

Pour into a serving bowl, and drizzle 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil over the top. Sprinkle on a pinch of kosher salt, cracked pepper, and fresh chopped thyme leaves. Garnish with chopped fresh basil and lemon wedges.

Serve with baguette slices, crostini, or crackers.

Cook's note:

Scrape the tiny herbs off sprigs of fresh thyme by running your fingers down the sides of the sprigs in the opposite direction the thyme is growing; they will fall off easily.

This recipe was styled by chef Karen Pickus for Good Morning America.