Roasted Garlic and White Bean Hummus, Served Warm

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast the garlic: chop off the heads of the garlic, and cut off the tops of each clove. Place on aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and wrap tightly in foil. Toss in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until nice and golden on top. The cloves of garlic should yield easily to pressure.

In a food processor, combine the white beans, cooking liquid or water, olive oil, tahini, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Let the garlic cool until it’s comfortable to touch, then squeeze out each individual clove of garlic and add to the food processor. Blend well, and adjust seasonings to taste (add more olive oil, salt and pepper, or lemon juice as necessary).

Transfer to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm. Sprinkle with rosemary. Serve with roasted or raw vegetables, pita chips or pita bread, toasted crostini, or a loaf of crusty whole wheat bread. The options are endless. If you want to make a meal of it, I highly recommend serving it with whole wheat linguine and roasted kabocha squash.