White Bean & Thyme Dip with Fried Potatoes

   I love hummus but I have had issues with making it at home.  The flavor is great, but the texture is off.  Chick peas have a thicker outer skin than a lot of beans so my hummus comes out slightly grainy.  Maybe if I had a food processor it wouldn't, but I don't have one.  I have a standard blender and an immersion blender.  I haven't tried hummus in my regular upright blender, but after making this white bean dip I don't know if I'll get around to trying it.

   Last Friday I made a chick pea and spinach soup.  I accidentally grabbed and opened a can of great northern beans.  So I put them in container and started trying to figure out what to do with them.  Then I found out we were having people over the following day.  Perfect, white bean dip!  Kettle cooked potato chips, pita chips, or raw veggies would be great with this, but seriously, try these fried potatoes. 

Fried Potatoes
5 lbs potatoes (Russet or Idaho)
water
light oil (vegetable, canola, etc...)
salt

   Clean potatoes very well.  Cut into 1/3-1/2 inch thick slices.  Place in a pot and cover with water.  Add about 1 Tbsp salt.  Bring to a boil, boil for 6-7 minutes until fork tender.  Drain and cool.  (This may be done the morning of the party.  Store potatoes at room temp, don't refrigerate the potatoes; the texture gets a little gummy if you do.)
   Heat about 3/4-1 inch of oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat.  Drop potatoes in batches into oil.  Fry until golden brown, about 2 min per side.  Remove to paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
   Serves 10

White Bean and Thyme Dip
1 can great northern beans
1/4 C Greek yogurt*
4 large cloves of roasted garlic
1 tsp dried thyme (2 tsp if it is fresh)
1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

   Drain off the top water from the can of beans but not the starchy liquid.  Puree beans and garlic together.  (My hand held blender worked really well for this.)  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.
   Makes ~2 C, will serve 12 or more.
*Soy yogurt or sour cream could be substituted.