This is a guest post by Chris Perrin. Chris is part mad scientist, part glutton, and part culinary adventurer who is always ready to hit the kitchen to make something delicious. And if not delicious, then certainly edible. Cooking, especially for friends, has always been one of his deepest passions and explains why he enjoys making party food as much as he does. You can always taste his mad creations at BlogWellDone.com.

Edamame — boiled soybeans — have become extremely popular in American restaurants over the past few years for good reason. They are great sources of vitamins and protein and the taste pretty good, too. There’s only one small problem. Edamame continues to be served the same way it has for years — boiled and salted. There’s nothing wrong with making edamame this way, but it’s been done already, and edamame is very versatile.

Here is a quick and easy edamame dip recipe that you can use to add a little pizzazz to your edamame. It’s basic, but still packed with great flavor. It’s also a delicious culinary canvas upon which you can create your own edamame works of art.

Edamame Dip

The following edamame dip is very similar to a hummus, but has a lot better texture because edamame beans are naturally firmer than cooked chickpeas or cannellini beans. This means making this dip will require a blender at the very least, if not a food processor, and it means the edamame will take a little longer to turn into a paste. Still, the results will be worth it.

2 16 ounce bags frozen edamame
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Juice of 1 lemon

Prepare the edamame per the bag’s instructions. Typically this involves boiling the edamame in salted water for 20 minutes. Drain and cool. Remove the beans from their pods. This is a manual process.

Put the edamame in the food processor with the salt and pulse 4-6 times to break the up the beans. Then add the tahini and process 10-12 times.

Start the food processor on its highest setting and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. You may not need all of it, but you should not need more than a half-cup. Once the dip has become a smooth paste, add the garlic powder and the lemon juice. Continue to mix until both are well incorporated.

Serve with toasted bread, fried wonton skins, pita, or tortilla chips.

Now, once you have mastered this basic recipe, it’s time to get creative. Like hummus, there are so many things you can do to add new and unique flavors to the dip. Adding black olives will give it a quick Mediterranean taste. Mixing in artichokes and roasted garlic will make it more Italian. Add a Mexican flair with cumin, cilantro, and chilies. Tamarind, fish sauce, more garlic, and chilies will give the dip distinctive Thai flavors, and a hint of wasabi is a nice Japanese touch.

Just about anything can work. Once you have mastered the basic framework, where you take this dip is up to you!