Julia Child’s Brandade a la Soissonaise (White Bean Hummus with Garlic and Herbs)

Julia Child’s White Bean Hummus with Garlic and Herbs gets extra flavor from fresh herbs! And Julia’s tasty white bean hummus served with low-carb pita bread is low-glycemic, dairy-free, meatless, and vegan, and if you skip the pita and use veggie dippers it’s South Beach Diet Phase One and gluten-free! Use the Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

Click here to PIN Julia Child’s White Bean Hummus with Garlic and Herbs!

This marks the fourth year food bloggers have celebrated Julia Child’s August 15 birthday by cooking one of her recipes, and after seeing Julie and Julia last week, this birthday celebration seems even more fun. I got down my only Julia Child cookbook and searched for something that could possibly be made South Beach Diet friendly, and this recipe for pureed white beans with garlic and basil was the winner!

Julia says that this white bean hummus can be made with canned beans, and the amount specified for the beans is exactly what I measured from one can of beans, which seems like good evidence that the cooking goddess did indeed use canned beans. The book also says the recipe can be made in a “super-blender-food-processor” which is what I used!It surprised me to see that the recipe from a book published in 1970 included tahini paste (which Julia called “sesame seed paste”) so if you made this with garbanzo beans you could probably get away with calling it Julia Child’s hummus. I used white beans and increased the amount of basil a little, and ate it with low-carb pita bread, wishing I was in Paris sharing the plate with Julia and Paul.

I made a double batch so I’d have leftovers in the fridge, so be aware that amounts in these photos are two times what the recipe says. I started with canned Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained in a colander. You can see from the holes that some kind of pest is eating my basil, but luckily I still had enough to use a generous amount of chopped basil. I used the food processor to partially chop the basil before I added the other ingredients, because I wanted finely chopped basil in the finished dish. Here’s how the white bean puree looked after I pureed the beans, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic. Decidedly short on looks, but long on flavor.

Serve with low-carb pita bread or use veggie dippers for a version that’s gluten-free and South Beach Diet Phase One.

More Recipes from Julia Child:

Spaghetti Marco Polo from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Beef Bourguignon from Simply Recipes
Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizza from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Julia Child’s Waterzooi from Nami Nami
Julia Child’s Cucumber Salad from A Veggie Venture
Julia Child’s French Bread from Andrea’s Recipes
Vegetable Crepe Torte from A Fridge Full of Food

Print Recipe

Julia Child's Brandade a la Soissonaise (White Bean Hummus with Garlic and Herbs)

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Total Time: 20 minutes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Fresh herbs give Julia Child’s White Bean Hummus with Garlic and Herbs extra flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 can white beans (recipe says garbanzo beans or black beans can also be used)
• 20 leaves fresh basil
• 1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice (or more)
• 1/4 cup Tahini paste (or less, if you’re not sure how much you like tahini)
• 2 tsp. minced garlic (or more)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2 T olive oil (plus more for drizzling on top if desired)
• chopped parsley for garnish, optional (could also garnish with other herbs)

Directions:

1. Empty the can of white beans into a colander placed in the sink, rinse well with cold water and let drain at least 5 minutes.
2. While beans are draining, wash basil leaves, spin dry in salad spinner or dry with paper towels, then put basil in the food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.
3. Add beans, fresh lemon juice, tahini paste, and minced garlic and process until beans are well pureed, about 1 minute.
4. When mixture is blended, add olive oil through the feed tube, 1 T at a time.
5. Taste mixture to see if you want more lemon juice, then season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and pulse a few times to mix in.
6. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired, and serve with pita bread, veggies, or crackers.

This recipe slightly adapted from my only Julia Child Cookbook – From Julia Child’s Kitchen.

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:

Julia Child’s White Bean Hummus with Garlic and Herbs will never be low-carb because of the beans, but canned white beans are a perfect low-glycemic food, and this dip without pita bread would also be suitable for any phase of the South Beach Diet. Served with low-carb pita bread, whole wheat pita bread, or whole-grain crackers, it would be phase 2 or 3 for South Beach. You could serve with celery, red bell pepper, or broccoli dippers for phase one.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.