This recipe came about after falling victim to the common crime of cooking way too many beans. I always think to myself it doesn’t look like that many beans.  However, after soaking and cooking them, we ended up with an excess of corona beans. This is what you get when you don’t measure.

This recipe is a great way to utilize the leftover beans from our last recipe, Cilantro, Lemon and Corona Bean Salad. We’ve used this recipe with cannellini, navy beans, chick peas and black beans.

Mediterranean Dip
{gluten-free, vegan}

Serves a small crowd as an appetizer

2 cups cooked corona beans (for more information on coronas, see this post)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
5 cloves of garlic chopped
8-10 good quality sun-dried tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Rehydrate the tomatoes in a small sauce pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Let stand for ten minutes.

Heat the garlic in the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. You are flavoring the oil here, not just cooking garlic. When the garlic is slightly toasted, add the beans and cook for 3 minutes. You want the beans to begin to break apart. Add the tomatoes and cook for two more minutes stirring frequently. Add the fennel seed and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the beans to a food processor and slowly add the water while you blend the beans. Taste one last time and reseason with salt and pepper if needed.