I’ve only recently started to explore making my own dips for chips and crackers – normally I’ll just pick up a jar of salsa or the like, and the only prep is dumping it in a bowl. Lately I’ve realized that there are lots of tasty things you can make yourself that will go on a chip or a cracker just as well as the stuff in the jar, and they’re kind of fun to make.

So far I’ve shown you guys how to make a cucumber cream cheese dip that’s awesome with tortilla chips or hunks of really good bread; this recipe is for a thicker dip (I would almost call it more of a spread) that lends itself really well to a table water cracker. It’s sort of in the same vein as a hummus. Hummus is made from chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), olive oil, and tahini (sesame seed paste). It also usually contains lemon juice and garlic, and you’ll see a ton of other fun stuff added to it. This dip is kind of a cousin to that dish.

It started out in my head as a white bean dip. There’s a fantastic restaurant in DC called Lincoln that does these awesome seasonal jars, and one of the ones I liked best there was a cream-colored white bean spread. Alas, I no longer work on the same block as Lincoln, and I had a bit of a hankering.

The addition of paprika transformed the final product into something that almost looked like canned pumpkin. I love paprika in just about any possible application – it gives a little heat without being overwhelming, and it’s sweeter than cayenne or chili powder. It does have a very pronounced red color, though. (You can see what just a little in a barbecue rub does to a slab of pork ribs here.)

Here’s what went into the food processor:

• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 2 15.5 oz cans of cannellini beans, well rinsed and drained
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• Salt to taste (2 tsp for mine)
• 4 tbsp olive oil, divided

Puree the garlic first, pulsing until it’s fairly fine. Next, add the beans. You will almost certainly need to scrape the sides a few times while pureeing the beans. Now, add in the spices and half the olive oil.

Puree until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the other half of the oil while pulsing. You may decide you want more or less oil based on the texture. Be aware that olive oil brings its own flavor to the party, and depending on the quality/type of olive oil you use it may have a pronounced olive flavor. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but it’s something to be aware of – I used extra virgin, which is the most potent, and you could definitely taste the oil in the final product.

Scrape down the sides to make sure it’s all blended and then transfer into a bowl for dipping or spreading. We had it with chips the first night and table water crackers the second (yet again, this is a recipe that was awesome the next day), and I imagine it would be really tasty with cut veggies – wedges of raw zucchini and summer squash, carrots, cucumber, etc.