White Bean Hummus with Onion Jam

Difficulty:
1/5

Servings: 6

Ease of Preparation: Medium

This recipe is part of the One BIG Recipe: Vegetarian Dinner

WHITE BEAN HUMMUS WITH ONION JAM

Ingredients:

Onion Jam:

  • 2 pounds (1 kg) yellow onions
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) butter
  • ½ cup (120 ml) raisins
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water

 Fried Sage:

  • 1 small bunch sage
  • ½ cup (120 ml) olive oil

 Roasted Garlic:

  • 2 heads of garlic
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt

White Bean Hummus:

  • 3 14-ounce (398 ml) cans of white beans
  • Roasted Garlic
  • Reserved sage frying oil
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) tahini
  • Salt and pepper

To Serve:

  • 2-3 rounds of naan bread
  • Vegetable oil, for grilling
  • Olive oil, to garnish

Special Equipment:

  • Food Processor
  • Grill

 

Method:

For the Onion Jam:

Peel yellow onions, slice all into thin half-moons.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the half-moon onions. Season with salt.

Heat and stir the onions until they just start to soften, then reduce heat to the lowest setting.

Return to stir onions from time to time, for 90 minutes (regularly scraping the brown caramelized sugars from the bottom of the pan up and into the onions), until completely browned and melty-tender.

After 90 minutes, add raisins return to heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Add balsamic vinegar, return to heat and cook another 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the balsamic is completely reduced.

Stir the onion-raisin mixture. Remove from heat, transfer to bowl, and set aside to cool at room temperature.

For the Fried Sage:

Strip the leaves from 1 small bunch sage, enough to yield about ¼ cup (60 ml) loosely packed leaves.

Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering.

Add the sage leaves and sizzle 10 seconds, until bubbles subside.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sage leaves to a paper-towel lined plate.

Season with salt while warm.

Reserve the fried sage leaves at room temperature for plating, reserve the sage oil, cooling at room temperature, for the White Bean Hummus.

For the Roasted Garlic:

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

Use a sharp knife and trim the top from 2 heads of garlic, exposing the cloves.

Wrap the heads in small pieces of aluminum foil.

Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.

Seal up the aluminum foil and roast in the oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes, or until soft.

Check the roasted garlic, it should be quite tender. If ready, open the foil and allow the garlic to cool at room temperature until needed.

For the White Bean Hummus:

Drain 3 cans of white beans in a mesh strainer, rinse lightly. Discard the bean liquid.

Transfer the beans to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until the beans resemble a chunky dip.

Squeeze the cloves from the heads of roasted garlic.

To the bean mixture, add the reserved sage oil, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, tahini, roasted garlic cloves, and season with salt and pepper.

Blend until the dip is quite smooth.

Transfer to a container and reserve for plating.

To Serve:

Pull the White Bean Hummus from the fridge to warm slightly at room temperature.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to high heat.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, re-warm the Onion Jam with water.

Brush 2-3 rounds of naan bread lightly with veg oil.

Grill, about 1 minute per side, until quite warm and lightly charred.

Transfer the hummus into a serving dish, use a spatula to smooth the top.

Spoon a bit of the warm Onion Jam over the bowl of white bean hummus.

Garnish with fried sage leaves, drizzle with olive oil.

Cut the grilled naan into wedges and present alongside.

Serve immediately.