Smashed bean dip

This is rather similar to a Nigel Slater dish we often have, from his 'Eat' collection. I gently fry onions and garlic then throw in one standard tin each of chickpeas and butterbeans (drained), and a little paprika. I fold in crême fraiche or yoghurt to achieve a good texture. Often, as here, I leave some of the veg unblitzed to add in at the end for crunch. Following Nigel's advice, I top off the mash with strips of crispy bacon, adding back a little bacon fat to the mix for flavour, but a veggie could add (say) L.McC sausages. Season to taste. I reckon any combo of these two recipes would be a hit—quick, simple, nutritious, filling and very tasty! And I could invent many variations on the theme.

I made this yesterday - yum! I changed it quite a bit though...! .Firstly, I only had beans, so I used two cans of those. .I used less lemon because someone below said it was very lemony! .I added a pinch of salt because it was a little bland. .I added some chilli powder and harissa because I love spicy food! .and I added 3 cloves of garlic, because it was still a little bland. So it needed a few extra things, but it was YUMMY!

I made this recipe to take to a BBQ as a nibble before all the meat, so cut up some veggies to go with it. Carrots, red pepper, celery and cucumber all went beautifully. I had favourable feedback, everyone liked it, but it was commented that it was very lemony - which was true, so maybe I'd cut back on the lemon next time. Also, I modified the recipe by using Total 0% Greek Yoghurt. I also added the following as I found it was a tad bland: - 1tsp salt - 1tsp cracked black pepper - 1tsp olive oil - a good pinch of chilli flakes By doing this and dividing the total into four portions, each portion had the following nutritional information: Cal - 152 (Cal from Fat 30) Fat - 3.3g Sat. Fat - 0.6g Sodium - 391mg Carb - 20.6g Of which Sugars - 2.4g Fibre - 7g Protein - 10.9g This makes it less cals than the recipe, and lower in fat. All in all, I was pleased with this one!

I've had this in my lunch box twice this week and have been the envy of my colleagues.