Dips and Spreads

1 Purée white or other beans (if canned, drain them) with garlic and olive oil in food processor, adding olive oil as needed. Stir in lemon juice to taste. Garnish with chopped scallions or red onion. You can add cumin or chopped rosemary with lemon zest.

2 Hummus: Truly one of the great culinary inventions. Mix four parts well-cooked or canned chickpeas with one part tahini, along with some of its oil, in a food processor. Add garlic, cumin or pimentón and purée, adding as much olive oil as needed. Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste; garnish with olive oil and pimentón.

3 Drain good whole-fat yogurt in cheesecloth for 15 minutes; squeeze to remove remaining liquid. Add salt, pimentón and olive oil. Thin with a little more yogurt to use as a dip, or serve on crackers or bread.

4 Mix four parts drained yogurt (as above), farmer cheese or cream cheese with one part sour cream, until creamy. Add thyme and chopped parsley (or any fresh herbs), minced garlic, salt and pepper.

5 Start by draining yogurt as above but do not squeeze; or use sour cream. Stir in chopped seeded cucumber, bell pepper, scallion, dill, then add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Or use chopped arugula and/or cress, with some herbs. Or use horseradish and/or Dijon mustard, with or without vegetables. Or minced or puréed onion or shallots and chopped fresh parsley. Always taste for salt.

6 Drain yogurt as above but do not squeeze; or use sour cream. Add flaked smoked trout or whitefish, or minced smoked salmon, along with chopped parsley, cayenne and lemon juice. Or add minced onion with salmon roe or caviar.

7 Taramosalata: Take 3 or 4 slices good white bread, preferably stale, and soak in water to cover for a few minutes. Squeeze out water, purée bread with 2 or 3 cloves garlic, 8 ounces fish roe (tarama) and at least 1/4 cup olive oil, adding more as needed. Stir in lemon juice and pepper to taste.

8 Mix four parts cream cheese or fresh goat cheese to one part chopped walnuts. A little spice mix (chili powder, curry powder, whatever) is nice in here. Or, replace the nuts with roasted peppers, olive oil and minced anchovies.

9 Boursin: Maybe you have a few Ritz? Mash cream cheese with minced garlic (if you have roasted garlic, so much the better), pepper and small amounts of minced thyme, tarragon and rosemary.

10 Mix three parts cream cheese, one part minced cooked shrimp, a few mashed capers and pepper.

11 Mash four parts goat cheese with one part fig jam.