Lea Hogg

A public holiday with much celebration, a regatta, Victory Day and and the feast of ‘Marija Bambina‘

It is hot and humid, very humid and at around 7 pm local time we start to feel a gentle and welcome breeze. I love the heat but the high level of humidity makes the day uncomfortable unless you are enjoying a day at the beach.

My favetta [yellow split beans] dip today is very simple, much lighter than hummus as it contains no tahini but I blend it with plain yoghurt and a generous amount of fresh mint and serve it with yellow and red cherry tomatoes instead of bread. I use skewers, allow one per person, so that tomatoes can be dipped with ease. And with a glass of ice cold white wine this was just perfect.

You will need:
1 tablespoon olive oil , plus some for drizzling
1 small garlic clove, just for flavor, I did not want an overpowering garlic taste
150g favetta beans
60ml plain yoghurt
A handful of fresh mint leaves
a pinch of dried mint
Salt and freshly ground pepper and crushed red peppercorns to season

Soak the favetta in cold water for a couple of hours or overnight in the fridge. Drain the water and rinse.

Cook in plenty water in a pot and if you wish to speed up the cooking process add some bicarbonate of soda, not too much as it will leave an aftertaste, just a generous pinch.

The favetta beans will soften up very quickly and when they reach a mushy stage take them off the heat. I found that I had to add water during the cooking process and it is important not to allow the pan to dry up. The beans absorb a lot of the water and you will not need to strain them again. Allow to cool.

Use a fork to mash them up. I like a bit of texture in the dip and prefer not to use an electic blender for the beans but I do use it to blend the garlic cloves together with the fresh and dry mint, olive oil and yoghurt. Mix with the favetta puree using a metal spoon. Refridgerate for an hour and drizzle with olive oil, garnish with more mint and red pepper corns.

I served with yellow and red cherry tomatoes cut in half and skewers