Salami Chips With Garlic-Heavy White Bean Dip

Ingredients

• 1 oz per person pre-sliced Genoa salami
• 1 whole head garlic cloves
• 14 oz can Great Northern white beans
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2-3 tbsp warm water
• 0.25 tsp salt
• black pepper

Method

The salami crisps depend entirely on the render. Genoa salami is roughly 30% fat; your job is to drive off that moisture and fat so you're left with a brittle sheet of salt-cured meat. Set the oven to 190°C. Lay the slices flat on a baking tray lined with baking paper — they can overlap slightly at the edges since they'll shrink by a third. Bake for 12–15 minutes. You're watching for the edges to darken and curl upward, and for the surface to go from glossy to matte. When you lift a chip, it should snap, not bend. Transfer immediately to a plate lined with kitchen paper whilst hot; the residual heat continues the drying process.

The dip is garlic-forward roasting work. Split a whole head and scatter the unpeeled cloves into a cast-iron pan over medium heat. Don't move them. Let the bottoms char lightly — you want colour, not steam — then lower the heat and leave them for 8–10 minutes until they collapse inward and smell sweet rather than sulphurous. The cell walls break down, and the raw bite converts to deep, almost caramel-like notes. When a clove yields immediately to finger pressure, they're done. Cool slightly, then squeeze the soft flesh from the skins into a food-processor-cooking bowl.

Add the drained white beans — rinse the canned beans under cold water to cut the salt and starch — along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Pulse until you have a loose, slightly chunky paste. This is an alliums-and-legumes base; the acid from the lemon denatures some of the proteins in the beans, making them easier to break down and giving the dip a tighter emulsion. Add the warm water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture reaches a spoonable consistency. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. The dip should be assertive — garlic-forward to the point of being forthright.

Transfer to a shallow bowl and drizzle a thin thread of olive oil across the surface. Serve the salami crisps standing up in the bowl, or alongside. The salt and fat of the chip against the soft, garlicky bulk of the dip is the point.