White Bean Dip and Baked Wonton Chips

I love it when experiments work, don't you? We had dinner guests coming last night, and I wanted to have something snacky and crunchy out for them when they arrived. However, I was serving some very rich lasagna rolls (see below) and therefore wanted to avoid inducing cardiac arrest in my guests.

And so, on a whim, I tried making some baked wonton chips and white bean dip. The chips were incredibly easy, as you see, and the dip tasted creamy but only had a little drizzle of oil. Even better, I got to use some herbs from my garden, making this the perfect submission for Weekend Herb Blogging.


White Bean Dip and Baked Wonton Chips

for the dip:

1 14-oz can cannelini beans, drained
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
a few sprigs of whatever herbs you have on hand. I used:
-lemon balm
-mint
-thyme
-rosemary
coarse salt and pepper
juice of half a lemon
1 Tbsp chives, for garnish


Place everything but the chives in a blender (or a food processor, but I don't have one. Wah), and pulse until smooth and creamy. Top with chopped chives and serve with baked wonton chips.


for the chips:

half a package of prepared wonton wrappers
olive oil cooking spray
sea salt


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the wonton wrappers in half and lay them out in a single layer. Spray with a coat of cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with the sea salt. Bake for 5 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy.



P.S. Yes, we have some new plants in the garden, and the radishes have made their way into the ground. Garden update to come once the sun decides to shine, maybe tomorrow?

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Tomatillo Avocado Sauce

Continuing my "culinary Spring fever" theme, I made one of my favorite recipes tonight. While the ingredients are available nearly year-round these days, this is still something that evokes warmer weather with every bite.


Grilled* Shrimp Tacos
serves 2-3

*we were low on charcoal and ended up cooking these under the broiler. Still very good, I promise.

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 30 pieces)
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
juice of 2-3 wedges of lemon
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
white corn tortilla shells (or soft flour shells, depending on preference)


Use 2-3 metal skewers to skewer shrimp. Melt butter, 15 seconds at a time, in microwave with garlic and lemon juice. Stir well to combine and add salt and pepper to taste. Using a basting brush, brush melted butter concotion over the shrimp generously, on both sides. Preheat broiler (or grill) and broil for 2-3 minutes per side--but watch the shrimp, once they are bright pink and a bit brown on the edges they are done!

Heat tortilla shells and fill with 4-5 shrimp. Top generously with the tomatillo avocado sauce, the serve. We had this with a simple tomato and caramelized onion salad, it was lovely.


Tomatillo Avocado Sauce
makes...plenty

3 medium tomatillos
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
half of a small onion (about .25 cup), coarsely chopped
.5 tsp chopped seeded jalapeno pepper (or more if you like the heat)
.5 tsp salt
heaping .25 cup sour cream (I used Horizons natural low-fat)
1 ripe avocado, peeled and chunked
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
olive oil


Discard husks and stems from tomatillos. Place in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook 3-4 minutes, until tender. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Place tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add sour cream, avocado, and a good drizzle of olive oil, process until combined and very smooth. Serve as a dip, with chips, or on tacos. Enjoy!