Pureed White Beans with Fresh Herbs

Here's another recipe to use up your fresh herbs. It comes from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook and is one I've made dozens of times because I love it so much and it's so versatile. I made it this past weekend to take to my mom's house when I visited, and I had trouble not eating it all and leaving some for others. It's just so good though! Use whatever herbs you like and have on hand. I served it with pita bread and crackers.

Sorry, I don't know why I'm taking blurry pictures lately!

This is from when I made it another time using other herbs. I used only 1 teaspoon each
of margarine and oil then and less liquid, so it was chunkier than the version I made
this past weekend.

Pureed White Beans with Fresh Herbs

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon margarine (I used 1/2 tablespoon of vegan margarine)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I used 1/2 tablespoon)
• 1 leek or a bunch of green onions or one regular onion, chopped (I used 3 leeks)
• 1 cup mixed mild herbs, like parsley, cilantro, mint, basil, or chervil (I used parsley only and used 2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, tarragon, or thyme (I omitted and used fresh parsley only)
• 3 cups cooked or canned cannellini, navy, or other white beans, drained, liquid reserved (I cooked my own beans)
• Bean-cooking liquid, vegetable stock, or water (I used veg broth)
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Put the Earth Balance and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the leek and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped herbs and cook a minute or 2 more.
2. If you want the mixture super-smooth, transfer it--along with the beans--to a food processor or blender and process, adding as much liquid as you need to make a smooth but not watery puree. (This is what I did. I used about 1 tablespoon of broth.) If you want a lumpier texture, mash the beans in the pan with a fork, adding liquid slowly to get them as soupy as you like.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature.