Herbed Bean Butter

Herbed Bean Butter

This versatile spread can be made with a variety of frozen beans or peas and served with bread or rolls in place of butter, as a snack with crackers, as a dip with vegetables or as a vegetarian sandwich filling.

Ingredients

Serves 8

  • 3 cups Pictsweet frozen Butter Beans
  • 1/2 cup sliced scallions (4 to 6 scallions)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried chopped basil leaves
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup parsley sprigs

Directions

Place frozen beans or peas in saucepan and cover with water. Place on stove top and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Reduce heat, cover and simmer as directed on package (cooking times vary for different beans and peas), adding water as needed, until beans are very soft. Drain well, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. In medium skillet, sauté scallions, garlic, thyme and basil in oil just until garlic begins to brown about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup bean cooking liquid. Combine cooked beans, scallion mixture, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor and process until very smooth, scraping side of processor bowl several times. Add parsley and pulse just until parsley is chopped and combined with bean mixture. Stir in additional cool liquid if needed to make mixture creamy. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.