Bean spread

An unusual bread spread with a pleasant savory kick! Bean spread isn't just a tasty, filling, wholesome topping for bread or sandwiches — it's an original, out-of-the-ordinary dish too. You can even serve it at a holiday table: spread it on crackers, or fill little tartlets and garnish them with a sprig of herbs. This appetizer is the first thing to vanish from the table. For one thing, not every guest will immediately guess what this remarkably tasty spread is made of — its secret lies in the pairing of hot pepper and walnut.

Snezhana

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beans

200

Carrot

Onion

Walnuts

Garlic

Ground hot pepper

Ground black pepper

Salt

Olive oil

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 26 % 11 g

Fats 19 % 8 g

Carbohydrates 56 % 24 g

226 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather your ingredients. It's quicker, of course, to make the spread with canned beans, but it tastes much better with home-cooked dried beans — though that takes longer, because you have to cook them. You can use red or white beans; that affects only the color of the spread, not the taste.
Step 2:

Rinse the dried beans and soak them overnight. They'll swell well and soak up a lot of liquid, so use a large container with enough water to cover them by double. Once the beans have plumped up, rinse them again and cover them with fresh water. Set them over heat. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour.
Step 3:

Go by how the beans look, though — how long they take to soften depends on how fresh they are. Once they start to fall apart, salt them to taste and turn off the heat. If they're still firm, keep cooking until they're soft. If there's a little cooking liquid left in the pot, don't drain it. Let the beans cool a bit.
Step 4:

Meanwhile, prep the walnuts. Rinse them and dry them in the microwave so they turn crisp. Grind them very fine in a blender — practically to a flour. The walnuts should register in the spread only as flavor, not as bits of nut.
Step 5:

Prep the vegetables for the spread too — they improve the flavor and make it smoother. Grate the carrot.
Step 6:

Finely chop the onion.
Step 7:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Saute the vegetables until the carrot is soft and the onion is translucent.
Step 8:

Take the sauteed vegetables off the heat.
Step 9:

Blend the beans with their cooking liquid into a smooth mass. If it seems very dense and stiff, add a little boiled water. Add the sauteed vegetables, the clove of garlic, and the seasonings — freshly ground hot and black pepper, salt to taste, and the ground walnuts. Blend the bean spread again. Spoon it into jars, chill it briefly in the fridge, and serve. Enjoy!