Tuscan White Bean Dip

1. First step is to roast your garlic. It’s really simple, it just takes a while. Preheat your oven to about 400 F. Cut the top off of a whole, unpeeled head of garlic (just enough to expose the cloves inside).

2. Brush the top of the head of garlic with a little olive oil, wrap the whole thing in foil, and pop it in the oven for about 40 minutes. The garlic should be browned and soft when you take it out of the oven. Allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes.

3. Once it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into the bowl of your food processor.

4. Into the food processor bowl with the garlic, add the tomatoes, basil, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Process until it is almost a paste, with only little chunks left. Scoop this mixture out of the food processor into a medium sized bowl and set it aside.

5. Next use the food processor to process the beans, remaining olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, regular paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper into a smooth paste.

6. Stir the bean mixture and tomato-basil mixture together. Add additional salt/pepper/cayenne if needed. I let this refrigerate overnight and the flavor was noticeably improved the next day. So if you have the time, do it. Serve with crackers, bread, or crudite. Makes about 3 cups.