Adzuki Bean Dip

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Makes 18 Servings
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Serving Ideas: Spread on rice cakes or crackers.

- This dip is easy to prepare ahead of time, and will keep in the refrigerator, providing nutritious snacks and appetizers, for a week (if it lasts that long). As with most bean dips/ pates, this also freezes well so I like to make large batches for use over one or more months.

- Even with the use of Tahini, this dip is still low in fat because small red beans like adzuki beans are often very low in fat (as opposed to garbanzo beans which have 20 times more fat).
- The serving size shown applies when this dish is being served as an appetizer. If this is served as a greater part of a meal, it may not make as many servings.

Ingredients:

1 small onion

4 garlic cloves

3 cups adzuki beans, cooked

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons tahini

2 1/2 tablespoons miso, light/white

1/2 tablespoon flax seeds, ground, optional

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a food processor (or blender) and blend until smooth.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve, or to integrate flavors completely, pour mixture into a earthenware casserole dish (with cover), and bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 to 2 hours, then refrigerate and serve.

Note: For every 3 cups of cooked adzuki beans, 2 tablespoons of tahini can be used and still keep the calories from fat less than or equal to 15%, and 6.5 tablespoons of tahini can be used and still keep the calories from fat less than or equal to 30%.

1 Serving = 3 Tablespoons.

Variations:

- If you are not baking the dip, add 1 tablespoon of flax oil.

- Use any type of bean.

- Use any type of nut or seed butter in place of the tahini.

- Use different types of seasonings such as: spices, herbs, mustard, vinegar.

- For a more elegant presentation, serve the dip in filo cups. These can either be made small for individual servings, or large for including on a buffet table.

- Serve with rice cakes for a gluten-free alternative to whole grain crackers.