Balsamic Bean Dip with Fresh Veggies

I love taste tests. They are in my top favorite modes of eating--up there with holidays. I'd started to get into making hummus myself, and so some friends and I did a massive homemade hummus taste test. We killed ourselves doing it right. We narrowed our choices down to about 15 different recipes and made them all exactly as they were written, and some of them included steps that were really tedious.
As a freebie at the end, I added this one. I didn't think it would be anything terrific, but it was so easy. Blend a can of beans with some vinegar? Sure.

Well, imagine our horror when this humble recipe tested just as well or better than all the flavors and varieties of hummus we'd been working so hard to make. The outrage! It was so good and so easy. It requires 1 minute of prep, 1 minute of washing the dishes. I was so irritated to think how much time I'd wasted trying to track down the best brand of tahini, or hand-peeling the chickpeas, etc. I've never bothered to make hummus again.


1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar plus extra for drizzling
Oil from jar of sun-dried tomatoes [or not]
Assorted crudités

Puree beans, olive oil, and 1 tablespoon vinegar in processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Drizzle with tomato oil and a few drops of vinegar. Serve with crudités.