kiss me guido cannellini beans (with lemon and rosemary)

Just like a summer love - first you pucker then you’ll fall in love!

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans of Cannellini Beans (Drained and Rinsed well)
• 2 small ribs celery (2 tablespoons or a bit more)
• 1 small shallot (2 tablespoons)
• 2 Tablespoons / 2 sprigs (4 inch) of fresh rosemary
• ½ lemon zest and juice
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon salt – more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper – okay use the shaker if you got it!
• ½ cup good flavorful olive oil

Steps:

1. Drain beans and rinse well with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Finely mince celery and shallots. Add to bowl. I was tempted to throw them in the food processor – but don’t they’ll get watery (don’t ask me how I know) and loose that little but of crunch that plays well with the beans.
3. Finely chop 1 tablespoon of rosemary (about 1 good size sprig – sorry gotta say it – “leaves only”). Add to bowl. Coarsely chop another sprig about 1 tablespoon and set aside.
   
4. Zest ½ a lemon. Add to bowl. You can use a knife to skin the lemon – then mince the strips. Or just getchya one of those zesters – it makes really pretty fine strips of zest – looks the rays of the sun J.
5. Juice ½ of a small lemon. Add to bowl.
6. Add ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Can be omitted - I just needed the garlic.
7. ½ cup Olive oil. This should be flavorful good quality oil. It’s a good idea to invest in a small bottle of really fine oil to finish off dishes or add to salads and…well this dish! It’s not enough to make the beans float by any means – think suntan oil just coat…okay okay no more hokey summer references! But it’s a good visual - no?
8. Add red peppers, salt and pepper.
9. Gently, mix all the ingredients together. Use a slotted spoon, being careful not to mash or break the beans.
10. Add the coarsely chopped rosemary and give it one more, good stir. I tear mine into the beans – I think it looks pretty when you can identify the rosemary.
11. Put into a covered container – I put into a ziplock bag – fancy right? And chill for about an hour or until you’re ready to serve.
12. Give it a stir before you put into a serving bowl – and garnish with sprig of rosemary and a couple fresh lemon slices.

Serve atop crostini bruschetta style (if you wanna be fancy), or put the crostini on a plate next to the bowl (more casual) or serve with crusty bread a spoon and a glass of white wine (my favorite).