Sometimes recipes happen by accident. Such is the case of
this Red Pepper, White Bean, and Feta Soup.
Doug and I were invited to our friend’s home for dinner, so
I offered to bring an appetizer dip. I searched my refrigerator and pantry
to make use of what I had on hand – plain yogurt and crumbled feta in the refrigerator; a jar of roasted red peppers, a ton of
canned white beans (hurricane provisions, you see) in the pantry. I figured if I swirled these together in the food
processor with some spices, I’d have a dandy dip.
I got to work immediately because I wanted to make this
early enough for the flavors to combine. |
| Red Pepper, White Bean, and Feta Dip |
Here’s what I did:
Red Pepper, White Bean, and Feta Dip
1 – 15-oz can roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed 1 medium clove garlic, mashed 1 – 15-oz can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed ½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt ½ cup crumbled feta cheese A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
I placed all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and processed until well-combined.
After I did this, I tasted it, placed the mixture a serving
bowl, covered it, and set it in the frig for a few hours. I checked the flavors again and decided it
was okay, but not good enough to share with our friends.
Not one to discard perfectly good food, I decided to turn the dip into a soup. |
| Red Pepper, White Bean, and Feta Soup |
To do this, I added 3 cups of chicken broth (Note: Use more broth if you prefer a thinner soup, and vegetable broth may be substituted), 1 tsp. lower-sodium Better Than Bouillon (chicken based), and a dash of Aleppo pepper. I used an immersion blender to
combine the ingredients, then gently heated it through.
I sprinkled some crushed pita chips to garnish.
I’m happy to say, this dip recipe was much better as soup! Next time I’ll omit the Feta as part of the soup base, but would use it as garnish.
What appetizer did I end up making?
Well, I actually made 2 – and – our hosts were pleased with both! |
| Mexican-Inspired Cheese Dip with Tortilla chips (L); Artichoke-Olive Tapenade with Pita chips (R) |
#1. Mexican-Inspired Cheese Dip
4 oz. shredded Monterey Jack/Colby cheese combo. 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
¼ cup finely chopped onion 3 Tbsp. water mixed with 1/2 tsp. chicken ‘Better Than Broth’ a few splashes of Cholula (chipotle) Hot Sauce, optional
Sauté tomato, jalapeño, and onion in olive oil until onion
and pepper are soft. Add water mixture; bring to boil.
Reduce heat; add cheeses, stirring constantly until melted. Stir in chipotle hot sauce, if using, just before serving. Place in a serving bowl and serve immediately with tortilla
chips.
NOTE: I had to refrigerate the cheese dip in a
microwave-safe bowl until it was time to leave. Once we got to our friend’s
house, I microwaved the cheese dip for 1 ½ minutes at 50% power, stirring every
30 seconds. It worked out great!
#2. Artichoke and Olive Tapenade More pantry items were found for this. 1 can black pitted olives (drained), 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (drained), a few pitted Kalamata olives (for good measure), a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a drizzle of olive oil.
I whirled it in the food processor and placed it in a serving bowl. Served this with pita chips.