I make a lot of soup, especially vegetable soups using whatever I have available. To make them more filling, I often add lentils, pearl barley or beans. Today I fancied making a mixed plate of tapas to eat before lunch and had paté cravings.
Instead of making a meat paté I took about a cup of dried beans that I had soaked overnight (the other half of which were destined for the soup pot) and made them into a tasty, garlicky paté which we served with pickled courgettes, our home cured olives, pickled onions from Cook, Eat, Live Vegetarian´s lovely recipe, salami made by a neigbour and some dried oven baked rolls.
To make one bowl of paté cook about a cup of your favourite dried beans until tender and drain (or use a can of beans). I cooked them with a few sticks of celery and a chopped carrot for extra flavour.
Put the cooked beans into a blender jug and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, 2 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper and a small bunch of fresh parsley. Blend using an immersion(stick) blender or a food processor. If the texture is too thick, taste and then add either extra oil, lemon juice or water depending on which flavours you want to dominate. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Quick, easy, tasty and economical. Pass the bread please!
Chica Andaluza 
This is great, I have pinto beans in the cupboard that were for soup. I guess we’ll get your soup recipe later?
Well, it was just a mixed veggie, pearl barley and bean soup…but maybe I should write it up!
I would give anything to be at your table tucking into that spread – my favourite kind of food! Thanks for this recipe, Chica – can’t wait to try it 🙂
And I´d love to have you sitting at my table!
I’m so glad you like my Grandad’s pickled onions! I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t! I’m getting his recipe for pickled red cabbage too this week, my Auntie Pat is trying to get it out of him!! This bean dip sounds right up my street and a fab excuse to get the pickles out. I’m thinking of setting up a business called Grandad’s Pickles and Preserves, no idea where I’d sell them though!!
I love those onions but I only have one jar left now so am having to “ration” them! Love the idea of Grandad´s Pickles and Preserves and I am sure you´d have lots of clients in the ex pat community!
scrumptious! i love a good bean pate, and this would fit the bill! what a spread on your table there!!
It was a great spread and we were almost (but not quite) too full for the main course 😉
We just made bean dip the other day. I’m going to start calling it pate. Sounds fancier!
I have to admit pate sounds more appetizing than bean dip. LOL even though it’s just as delicious!
Anything said in French sounds better 😉
the French appraoch food the same way they approach sex….
with passion!
Ooh la la!
I can be a Miss Fancy Pants when I want to! Actually, I had the word paté in my head because Big Man asked me what I was making and there isn´t really a word for “dip” in Spanish (at least, I don´t know of one)!
Yes there is. Dippa Americana!
Oooh yay, I can use my new food processor for this! x
Oh definitely, it would blitz them up to creamy perfection!
That looks good – like a bean hummus, and lucky you having a neighbour who makes salami!
Exactly like that! And yes, we gave our neighbour some oil and he gave us some salamis…a good trade I think!
I look forward to trying this one, i made a bean dip a while back and it was .. well less that tasty, yours looks smoother, cooler.. I will try it.. I am dying to get one of those hand held blenders too, they look mighty handy.. c
I use my hand held blender so much – much more tan my food processor. And yes, this was very tasty (and garlicky)!
Perfect! And so simple. I’ve just been checking out your courgette recipe, always handy for gluts. I have a good recipe that I picked up, and you’ve reminded me I still have a jar left 🙂
We´ll have to trade courgette recipes later in the year!
Just got home hungry and this would be wonderful – sadly I can’t make it quickly enough so I am going to have to make do with chees and crackers. I left the stock pot simmering and it smells fabulous so maybe something like your soup tomorrow. (Or just a cupful of stock now!)
Cheese and crackers with a hot cup of stock sounds mighty good to me!
How wonderful! I love this recipe and I love sitting down to a table of tapas like this! Your photo is so welcoming 🙂 I wish we were neighbors!!
If we were neighbours I dread to think how much weight we´d put on! Would be fun getting fat together though 😉
Love this idea for bean dip, especially that you can make it with whatever bean you have on hand. Also love that it’s another way I can use the new orange immersion blender. Yum!
Oh yes, I have blender envy that yours is orange 😉
You’ve made me hungry again and I just got back from dinner with Amaia – we’ve been eating for about 8 hours…
Ooh I love meals like that when they go on all day! Hope you´re going to tell us all about what you ate…
This looks like a hummus but using pinto beans, great idea!
I think it pretty much is just that! The name escaped me when I typed up the recipe 😉
I, too, had tried a bean dip recipe and wasn’t at all pleased with it. I’ve had such good luck with your recipes, Tanya, that I’m going to replace that thing with your recipe. And this Fall, I’m preserving olives!
Yay! This was really tasty, but it seems that some people have had “bland bean” experiences 😦 Hope it works for you and am looking forward to preserving olives together “virtually”!
love this!
🙂
I love hummus! I’ve made mine only with garbanzo, and it never occurred to me to try it with pinto beans. I want to know how it tastes.
Yes! Refreshing Spring and Summer foods are finally here! 🙂
P.S. Love how you set up your tapas table, very pretty and oh-so-summer-y.
It´s that great time of year when we start to move away from the heavier Winter dishes and creep through Spring to Summer!!
I’ve never heard of pearl barley. We make a lot of soups so I’ll have to look into it. We use a lot of pinto beans and lentils in our soups.
It´s used quite a lot in the UK…Sainsbury´s will have it! It makes soups thick but needs no soaking and softens up when cooked. I love it!
I love making a bean dip…the bowl is always emptied quickly. Your whole plating sounds delicious.
Thanks Karen – tapas is always a good easy starter to do in my house!
I should do this for lunch tomorrow…the weather may be nice enough to eat out on the porch!
(I’d actually be doing it today, if I had soaked the beans!)
Yes, this would be a good veggie one for you both. Filling and tasty! Fingers crossed for a sunny day 🙂
Oh my, the list of “must taste” things for when I come and visit is growing by the day.
🙂 Mandy
Hope you´re planning to stay for a few months 😉
I love this entire spread!
And we should arrange our visitation schedule soon. I think I’ll come visit first.
No problem – wait for the warmer weather though!
So healthy and delicious. What a nice spread you have there! Pun intended. 😉
Pun enjoyed and appreciated – thank you!
Lovely spin on Pate! 🙂
Thank you!
I’m usually not a huge fan of bean dip, but yours came out looking really delicious. I’m still a bit afraid of bean dip, but I will try it soon
It´s not for everyone…being different is what makes us all interesting!
I think I once made something similar.. but had forgotten all about it!! I love your pate, this is precisely why I love your blog!! Excellent recipes that are more unusual!!
Thank you – I think that´s what we all like about each other´s blogs…someone posts something that turns on a little lightbulb and reminds us of something. Then we either recreate the dish or it inspires us to create something. Love it!
I love making dips with different beans – the best, and most surprisingly delicious, one which I tried was made with broad beans – really yummy. I’ve never tried it with pinto beans, but I love beans so I know I’d adore this. I’ll add it to my list of things to make… need to make a mushroom paté first!
Also – is that Krisproll breads in the background I see? 😀 If you’re interested, I’ve posted a recipe about these here
I love broad bean dip too, and broad bean fritters…well, I love broad beans! And now I´m going to check out your recipe as yes I confess to buying these little rolls 😦
Easy, quick and full of flavor.I just love dips!
Me too!
This looks and sound delicious! I love pinto beans!
And any bean will do…!