Romanian butterbean dip with caramelised onions

I came across this delicious butterbean dip on a recent visit to Romania and couldn’t put my finger on the main ingredient.

It’s like hummus only creamier and silkier. I found the recipe in Irina Georgescu’s excellent book on Romanian cooking, Carpathia and she kindly shared it with me - and you!

Irina writes: “This butterbean dip is very easy to make if we use already-cooked white beans. I used to buy them in a tin, but those in jars are sometimes better seasoned.

Any white beans will do: butterbeans, haricot, cannellini etc. If you use dried beans, then of course, the dish will take longer to prepare, because the beans need to be cooked first. If I’m cooking them from scratch I like to add bay leaves to the water, and if the dish is not for vegetarians, a ham bone or beef bones for more flavour. But it gets a little too complicated.” 

My footnote: The exact quantities of oil and water you need will depend on the beans you use. I used a 660g jar of butter beans, 75ml water and 5 tbsp oil (3 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp sunflower oil) FB.

Serves 4-6

For the dip:

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 x 400g tinned butter beans or a large 660g jar, drained and rinsed
4-6 tbsp light olive oil or 50/50 extra virgin olive oil and sunflower or other neutral oil
1 level tsp fine sea salt

For the caramelised onions:
Vegetable or sunflower oil, for frying
2 brown or yellow onions, finely sliced
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp caster sugar 
100ml passata 

Method:

First make the caramelised onions. Cover the bottom of a frying pan with a thin layer of oil and turn the heat to high. When hot, add the onions and stir to ensure they are well coated in oil. Add a splash of water to prevent burning. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Add the paprika, sugar, and passata. Cook until everything melds into a deep orange colour, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. 

To make the dip, blitz the garlic briefly in a food processor then add the butter beans with enough water (4-6 tbsp) to make a smooth purée. Start adding the oil one tablespoon at a time. The more oil you use, the smoother and softer the dip will be. Add salt, check the seasoning and give it a final whizz.

Transfer the dip to a serving dish or bowl and spread the onions on top

Serve with chunks of bread or with Romanian covrigi bagels. 

What to drink: As the dip is normally served with a selection of other appetisers I’d serve a crisp fresh white such as a pinot grigio  or a rosé

For other bean pairings see The best wine pairings with beans.

Adapted from Carpathia by Irina Georgescu, published by Frances LIncoln. Photo ©Irina Georgescu 

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