Spinach and Cannellini Bean Dip with Homemade Pita Chips

A few years ago my sister came to visit me when I was living in Albany, New York. She had flown all the way from California and I was determined to take her to New York City - I mean she'd come that far, what's another 3 hours on a train, right? So I booked us a hotel in the city and off we went. Because we're Sicilian it seemed only appropriate that we seek out an authentic Italian restaurant - and because we were in New York City that was totally feasible. After we had been seated and our vino was delivered the waiter brought out this bread and cannellini bean dip. To be quite honest I am not sure that I had ever had cannellini beans before that night but I learned really quickly that I love them! Therefore, in the spirit of all things appetizer I decided that the perfect companion to my stuffed mushrooms would be spinach and cannellini bean dip with homemade pita chips. While this recipe is not exactly what we enjoyed in New York City it is a fabulous runner up. This recipe is incredibly easy and wont take you more than 20 minutes.

Spinach and Cannellini Bean Dip Recipe:

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (6-ounce) bags baby spinach

1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large nonstick skillet heat the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 of the spinach and cook for 2 minutes until wilted. Repeat with the remaining spinach. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.

Place the spinach mixture, cannelloni beans, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the mixture is smooth. (Ideally this is the best way to make this dip – however if you are like me and do not own a food processor then you can totally just smash the mixture up using a potato masher or simply leave the recipe as is. Personally I’ve made it both ways and either one is delightful!)

Homemade Pita Chips Recipe:

1 Package of Pita Bread

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 F

This is super easy! Just cut the pita bread up into little triangular pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Lightly drizzle the olive oil over the pita bread – not too much or your chips will be totally saturated and not so delightful. Then just sprinkle the garlic salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if you like a little heat, lightly on top of the pita bread and bake for about 5-10 minutes. You can test them along the way to determine when they’re done to your liking.

Or you can totally cheat and buy pita chips from the store – the sea salt ones are perfect for this recipe!

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