White Bean Spread with Truffle Oil

This past weekend we had friends over for dinner, and I tried out this white bean spread that turned out great. It's simple and easy to make, and the truffle oil makes it special. Everyone loved it. See the recipe below.

I paired it with a fresh fruit salad for appetizers. I always love fresh fruit, but the juicy, sweet watermelon was a real treat.For dinner we had

• Big salads of leaf lettuce topped with grilled tofu marinated in the Basic Baked Tofu marinade from Veganomicon and tons of grilled veggies, with a choice of the Veganomicon Mediterranean Olive Oil and Lemon Dressing or Appetite for Reduction Balsamic Vinaigrette (which everyone liked best)
• Red Beans and Rice

For dessert I made Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream Frosting.

We ate out in our little urban patio/garden, which is our little oasis in the city that we love hanging out in. If you look closely, you can see our semi-feral cat who adopted us--she's hanging out in the left of the perennial garden we added when we cut out some of the concrete two years ago. Crushed White Bean Spread with White Truffle Oil

I found this recipe online here and veganized it by using veg broth.

Makes about 1 cup

4 cups vegetable broth
2/3 cup dried great Northern beans, soaked overnight
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon white truffle oil, plus more as needed

In a medium 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, garlic, and oil in a food processor and puree until there are no whole beans, but there should be some texture. You can also just mash them in the bowl for a chunkier version, as in the original recipe. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the scallions and parsley. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with white truffle oil. Serve the spread with crostini or little crackers.