New Meal Monday: White Bean Dip with Pita Chips

We recently have been getting together on a regular basis with some friends of ours, all of whom have kids around our daughter's age.  It's nice, we're all on the same page in that we like to get together socially, while still spending time with our kids, but everyone's night has to end at a toddler's bedtime.  To try and make it easier we break up the burden of the food. Host family provides the main course and things like appetizers, dessert etc...are divided up by everyone else.
For this past weekend's dinner, my wife and I volunteered to be on appetizers.  Since we knew the hosts were making pizza (delicious, delicious pizza) we figured we'd stay away from some of our go-to apps, since their typically cheese based, and we ended up making this White Bean Dip and using pita pockets to make our own homemade pita chips!  It was all easy to make and quite tasty!  This recipe makes quite a bit of dip (more than our group of 6 could consume) so make for a party, or we'd recommend reducing quantities for a small group.

Dip:
What you'll need:

  • 2 Cans (15oz) White Beans, drained
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly minced rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

How you'll do it:

  1.  Combine the drained beans and garlic in a food processor and blend for until combined (about a minute). 
  2.  Scrape down the sides and add in the pepper flakes, lemon juice and zest, rosemary, and salt. 
  3.  With processor still running, slowly pour in olive oil, process until smooth. Add additional salt if desired.
  4.  Cover and store in fridge until ready to serve (can be refrigerated up to 3 days). Before serving, drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Makes 3 cups.

Pita Chips:
What you'll need:

  • 5 Large Pita Pockets
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano

How you'll do it:

  1. Preheat oven to 450F
  2. Cut each pita into eight pieces, then separate top from bottom. (Each pita should produce 16 pieces).
  3. Mix salt, oil, and oregano in a large bowl.
  4. Toss pita in bowl with oil mixture until all pitas are lightly coated in oil.
  5. Spread pita in single layer across 2 large baking sheets.
  6. Bake for 4 min, then flip and bake for an additional 2-3 min.