Vegetables can be more than salad ingredients or side dishes. Many make interesting dips, simply by puréeing them with olive oil and seasonings. The following purée can be used as an appetizer served at room temperature or as a warm side dish.

MAKES: 1½ Cups Pureé.

Ingredients

• 1-4 peeled garlic cloves (to taste)

• 3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided

• 1/8 tsp. dried crushed red pepper, or to taste (optional)

• 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets

• 1 cup canned cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, or to taste

• 1 Tbsp. fresh chives, finely minced (or 1 tsp. dried chives, crushed)

• Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

• Tabasco or hot sauce, to taste (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine garlic, 1 tsp. oil and crushed red pepper in small foil packet, sealing well. Bake until garlic is tender, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly.

• Meanwhile, steam broccoli florets in microwave until tender, about 2 minutes. Rinse quickly with cold water to stop cooking process. Drain well. Transfer to blender or food processor.

• Add cannellini, lemon juice, chives, garlic mixture and remaining olive oil and purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot sauce.

• Serve as a side dish or as part of a light meal or snack. The purée can be spread on pita bread or tortillas to make roll-ups. (Slightly more olive oil may be needed to make the purée "spreadable.") The purée can also be spread on crackers or used as a dip for raw vegetables like bell peppers, celery and zucchini.

• The purée can be stored refrigerated in a covered container up to three days. Bring chilled purée to room temperature before serving.

Makes 1 1/8 cups dressing and 16 cups salad.

Nutritional Information

(Per  serving)

• 63 calories

• 3 g. fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat)

• 8 g. carbohydrate

• 3 g. protein

• 3 g. dietary fiber

• 98 mg. sodium.

  Contributed by The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)