Roasted Fennel and White Bean Dip

We found this recipe on Food52... looking for fennel recipes.  This was different and raved about.  We made it for crew lunch with an Autumn Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato, Apple and Radish and toasted bread.  It was a delicious break from harvesting in the drizzle of early winter. The original recipe suggests a few steps which I combined trying to save time.  Roasting the fennel and garlic intensifies the flavour and brings out their natural sweetness.  I added extra fennel as we had some. I left out the step of simmering the beans in pressed garlic and olive oil...although it sounds lovely, this was lunch on our busiest day of the week. I doubled the garlic being roasted instead. Ingredients 2 large fennel bulb (reserve the fronds) 4 cloves garlic, in skins 2 Tbsp. olive oil salt and pepper 2 Tbsp. rosemary leaves

2 cups cooked Cannelinni beans, well drained 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 200C. 2. Roughly dice the fennel. Spread onto baking tray and toss the fennel and garlic cloves in the olive oil with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes, tossing a few times. Add the rosemary when the fennel is almost finished. 3. In a food processor, combine the white beans, olive oil, lemon juice,  roasted fennel, garlic (pushing it out of its skin first) and parmesan.  Pulse everything together into a rough puree. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Turn the oven up to 225C. Transfer the dip to a baking dish and sprinkle the top generously with grated parmesan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has browned. 4. Garnish with diced fennel fronds.  Serve warm with toasted flatbread or crackers.