Crushed White Bean Bruschetta With White Truffle Oil Food

BRUSCHETTA WITH WHITE BEANS, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND BASIL

Steps:

• Rinse the beans well and then put in a 1-quart saucepan. Cover with water to 1-inch over the top of the beans. On medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Immediately take the pot away from the burner, cover and hold for 1 hour. Change the water; add half of the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 garlic clove and the bay leaf. Cook beans on low. Simmer for about 40 minutes or until tender. During last 10 minutes, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in carefully. Remove from heat and hold in the saucepan with the cooking liquid until cool. This may be done 1 to 2 days before serving, and kept refrigerated.
• For the bruschetta topping:
• Preheat a grill or stove-top grill pan.
• Grill the bread on both sides until crispy. Be careful on high heat as bread burns easily.
• While bread is grilling, in a saute pan on medium heat, toast the sliced garlic in the olive oil. When it is light golden, add the chili flakes, cook for 10 seconds and then add the basil leaves. Do this carefully, as the basil may spatter some oil.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to the pan. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the bean cooking liquid (or liquid from canned beans) and mix all together. Hold warm. Adjust consistency, as necessary, with the bean liquid, a little at a time.
• When the basil leaves are wilted, remove mixture from the heat. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and chopped parsley. Toss to combine and adjust the seasoning with lemon juice, to taste, and salt and pepper.
• Lightly swipe the remaining garlic clove on 1 side of the bread. Arrange the toasted bruschetta on a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining extra-virgin olive oil. Top each piece with some of the tomato-bean mixture, then evenly divide the ricotta salata over the mixture. Serve warm.

MASHED WHITE BEANS WITH TRUFFLE OIL

Steps:

• Sort the beans to make sure they are free of stones or other debris. Rinse, then cover with cold water, refrigerate, and soak overnight.
• The next day, drain the beans, place them in large pot, and cover with the stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the beans for 2 hours, or until they are soft, tender and yield to pressure when squeezed between your finger tips.
• Add the salt only in the final 15 minutes of cooking since the addition of salt earlier in the cooking process will result in tough beans.
• Pour the beans in to the bowl of a food processor. Begin to pulse the beans along with any of the stock that may have remained from cooking. Add all the remaining ingredients except the truffle oil and pulse together with the warm bean puree. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and add freshly ground pepper if needed. Return the bean puree to a pot set over low heat or a double boiler to keep warm. Serve each portion of puree with a drizzle of truffle oil.

BRUSCHETTA WITH WHITE BEAN PUREE

Steps:

• Puree the beans in a food processor until smooth, adding the reserved liquid, as necessary, for a finished consistency that is spread-able but not too thin. Add olive paste and thyme. Puree again, and while pureeing, add extra-virgin olive oil and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Reserve, and garnish with sprigs of thyme, if desired.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Cut a crispy Italian bread into thick slices. Toast or grill until light brown and crispy. Then swipe once with a clove of fresh garlic, drizzle with olive oil. Spread with the White Bean Puree. Finish with a pinch of gray salt and freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

WHITE BEAN BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Preheat grill pan or broiler.
• In a bowl, gently combine the beans, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red pepper, basil and garlic.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• It's nice if the mixture can sit for a half an hour or so.
• For the bread: I usually warm a clove or two of chopped garlic in some olive oil to infuse the flavor.
• This can be done on the stovetop over VERY low heat, or in the microwave heated for about 30 seconds.
• Add a couple shakes of salt and pepper, and brush garlic oil evenly over the bread slices.
• Toast bread under the broiler, or on a grill pan for a few minutes (3-5), until slightly brown and crisp, or until there are grill marks.
• Top the bread slices with the bean mixture and drizzle any extra balsamic/oil over the top.
• This bruschetta is nice served with a tossed green salad.

BRUSCHETTA WITH WHITE BEANS, TOMATOES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Place beans in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 1 hour.
• Drain beans; return to pan. Add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Drain and cool.
• Transfer 1 1/2 cups beans to medium bowl (reserve remaining beans for another use). Mix in tomatoes, olives, 4 tablespoons oil, basil and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat broiler. Place bread on baking sheet. Brush with 2 tablespoons oil. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Spread with cheese. Top with bean mixture.

SPICY WHITE BEAN BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Cut one tomato into 1/4-inch pieces, and place in a medium bowl. Add the white beans, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, red-pepper flakes, thyme, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Set mixture aside.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush bread slices with remaining olive oil. Place on a baking sheet, and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Just before serving, cut remaining tomato in half, and rub each toasted bread slice with the tomato. Divide bean mixture among toasted bread slices.

CRUSHED WHITE BEAN BRUSCHETTA WITH WHITE TRUFFLE OIL

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine the broth, beans, garlic, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 45 minutes. Season the beans, to taste, with salt and pepper. Cool in the liquid. Drain the beans, reserving the garlic cloves. Place the beans in a bowl and coarsely mash with a potato masher. Add 2 to 3 cloves of garlic and continue mashing. Mash in the olive oil, but keep the mixture fairly coarse. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the scallions and parsley. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with white truffle oil. Serve with a basket of crisp toasts and the bottle of truffle oil, for more drizzling.