Shatta white bean dip

A warm dip for people who arrive on time. The base blitzes in a minute, the broiler provides the theatre and the whole thing is gone before anyone has taken off their coat.

1. Set the broiler to high with a rack about 6 inches from the element. Have a gratin dish, cast iron skillet or shallow baking dish standing by.
2. Grate the garlic straight into the food processor, then add the beans, lemon juice, shatta and olive oil. Blitz until silky. A full minute, not a pulse. One grated clove goes further than four chopped ones and stays civil about it, which matters in a dip that never really cooks. Taste as you go, shatta varies in heat by brand, then season with salt.
3. Spread the purée level in the dish and bury the entire surface under an even layer of Parmesan. Do not be shy. The crust is the whole point.
4. Broil for 4 to 6 minutes and watch it like a hawk. You want the cheese golden and blistered in patches, the edges just pulling away. Molten and creamy underneath, salty and nearly crisp on top. That contrast is the dish.
5. Straight from the oven, a drizzle of olive oil, then za'atar and parsley. The za'atar ties the shatta's Levantine character together beautifully. Serve at once with baguette. It will not last long. It never does.

Make ahead, if you must be organized about it. Blitz the bean base up to a day in advance and refrigerate, then bring it to room temperature before the cheese goes on and the broiler does its work.

The base is your friend. Blitz a double or triple batch up to a day ahead and keep it cold. The broiler still crusts only one dish at a time, so spread the purée across two or three dishes, blanket each in Parmesan and run them through one after another, 4 to 6 minutes apiece. Serve each the moment its crust blisters.