Warm Artichoke and Bean Dip

I found this recipe online a while ago for a friend's birthday last week. Since she's a vegetarian, a health food lover, I wanted to make something extra special for her. It's easy to make and it turned out to be very tasty and best of all GUILT-FREE! Cannellini beans are the secret ingredient in this low fat recipe. Try it at home if you have a small party, it's something different that works very well with tortilla chips or cut-up mini pita bread.

Source: http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/warm-artichoke-and-bean-dip-recipe-2/article171189.html

Ingredients:
1 can (19 or 15 ounces/540 or398 milliliters) cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 ounces/398 milliliters) artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon reduced-fat mayonnaise
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh/dried parsley
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Coat a 2- to 3-cup baking dish with nonstick spray.

Step 2:  Place the beans, artichoke hearts, garlic, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, parsley and black pepper in a food processor. Process until almost smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl once or twice.

Step 3: Transfer to a medium oven-friendly bowl/dish. Site in 2/3 cup of the Parmesan, parsley and lemon zest.

Step 4: Scrape into the baking dish and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle a few pinches of parsley and the remianing 2 tablespoons of Parmesan on top of the dish.

 

Step 5: Bake the dip, uncovered, for 20–25 minutes or until it is heated through. Serve warm. One serving 1/4 cup.

Step 6: Serve warm with plain tortilla chips or mini cut-up pita bread! Enjoy!