Roasted Red Pepper Dip

After a day of indulging in chocolate and a rich and delicious Easter dinner at Spencer’s in Palm Springs  I tried to keep it light and healthy the next day. A Roasted Red Pepper Dip served with vegetable crudites and Oroweat toasted 100-calorie multi-grain sandwich thins was perfect.

Ingredients:

3 red bell peppers, roasted

1- 15 oz. can of organic cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoons pine nuts for garnish (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees F. Core and slice red peppers in half, place on foil-lined tray and roast until skin is blackened. Allow to cool, remove skin.

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until fairly smooth.  Add more olive oil for desired consistency and salt and pepper to your taste.

I used two of my must-have kitchen accessories (pictured below) for this recipe: this Cusinart mini-food processor that I bought at Sur La Table and I don’t know how I ever survived without a microplane for grating lemon and orange rind! (Its great for ginger – so much easier than mincing and the stringy part is left on the microplane). Both of these essential items can be purchased at my Amazon store.