Hetty Lui McKinnon's white bean and sundried tomato dip is an easy summer dinner

The backbone of many of my weeknight meals is a dip that can be repurposed or gussied up during the week.

The key to making a dinner-worthy dip is making sure it's robust enough in texture and flavour to be a main player, and not just a side show.

For their heartiness, white beans are an excellent base for a main event dip. When blitzed, they become creamy and velvety, ready to embrace whatever seasonings you may add.

How to make a dip into a meal

On the laziest evenings, serve the dip with crudité, store-bought flatbread, cheese, and call it dinner. However, dips can also do more:

• Serve the dip as a base for charred or roasted vegetables.
• Spread the dip onto bread and top with charred vegetables, sliced tomato or avocado for a textural open-faced sandwich. It's also great as an addition to any salad sandwich.
• Smear the dip onto a shallow bowl and top with crispy gnocchi (oven-baked or pan-fried), seasonal juicy tomatoes and basil.
• Stir into soup or stews to bulk it up or add depth of flavour.
• Use the dip as a base for crispy chickpeas and serve with flatbread.
• Sometimes I will add a bit more water or olive oil to loosen it up and then use it as a buttery vegan sauce for pasta.

This white bean and sun-dried tomato dip is highly transportable too, a perfect addition to a picnic or outdoor gathering.

Tips:

• Tinned beans are best: For convenience and the best results, I recommend using canned beans. An important element of this recipe is the addition of aquafaba (bean soaking liquid) to the beans, which gives the dip a light and airy texture. Most 400g cans of beans will yield about ⅔–¾ cups (160ml–180ml) of aquafaba, which is perfect for this recipe.
• Dry and marinated sun-dried tomatoes both work: I've accented this white bean dip with sun-dried tomatoes, a pantry staple which quickly injects an intensely concentrated tomato flavour with an edge of tart acidity. Sun-dried tomatoes come either marinated in oil or dry, and both will work in this recipe.
• Spice it up: I've used red chilli flakes for just a hint of spice, but you could opt for a hot sauce like tabasco, sriracha, sambal oelek or even chilli crisp. The slight heat really adds depth to the tomatoey flavour.