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Posts Tagged ‘Butter beans’

Slow-cooked Lamb with Butterbeans

Posted in Food, Lamb, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18 March 2025| Leave a Comment »

A delicious prep-ahead dish that only improves if made in advance. Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Slow-cooked lamb with butterbeans – serves 4

  • 2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
  • 2 ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
  • ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
  • 800g lamb neck, cut into bite-size cubes
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, quartered
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 lemon, finely shave the skin into strips, then cut into wedges to serve
  • 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
  • 4 anchovies, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp thyme leaves
  • 1 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
  • 250g cherry tomatoes
  • 75ml white wine
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 x 700g jar good quality butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • 150g thick Greek-style yoghurt
  • 10g parsley, roughly chopped

Mix the coriander seeds and 2 tsp of the cumin seeds together in a small bowl.

Mix the remaining ½ tsp of cumin seeds with the sea salt flakes and set aside.

Season the lamb with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large shallow ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the lamb in batches and cook until nicely browned. You can add another tbsp of oil if needed. Scoop out with a slotted spoon onto a plate and set aside.

Add 2 tbsp of the oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, bay leaves, lemon strips and garlic and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring now and then. Add the anchovies, the coriander-cumin mix, thyme, rosemary and half the tomatoes. Cook for a minute, then return the lamb to the pan. Cook for a minute, then add the wine. Let it bubble for 30 seconds, then add the stock and season well with salt and pepper. Increase the heat and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to the oven for 1½ hours, until the lamb is very soft and the liquid well-reduced.

Add the butter beans and the rest of the tomatoes. Stir, cover again and return to the oven for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with the salt and cumin seed mix and the chopped parsley.

Salad and crusty bread is all you need on the side.

(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2024.)

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Barbecued Little Gems with White Beans & Tahini

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 8 August 2023| Leave a Comment »

Gill Meller is a master of salads (among other things) and this one is no exception. We’ll also definitely be barbecuing more lettuce after trying this.

Barbecued little gems with cucumber, white beans and tahini – serves 8 as a side

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
  • 1 x 400g tin of butter beans, drained
  • juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 4 little gem lettuces, halved, washed and patted dry
  • 1 medium or 2 small cucumbers, halved lengthways and cut into 1.5 cm slices
  • a small bunch of chives, finely chopped and a few left whole to garnish

Light your barbecue.

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds, then add the white beans and lemon zest. Stir to combine and cook for another minute or two to warm through the beans. Stir in the tahini, yoghurt, lemon juice and parsley, and 2 tbsp of water. Cook for another minute or two, until a spoonable consistency. Add a bit more water if it’s too thick, then remove from the heat.

Season the little gems with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1 tbsp of oil. Place over the hot barbecue with the cut sides down and grill for 5-10 minutes on each side – they should be softened, and starting to caramelize and char. Place on a platter when done.

Warm the bean and tahini dressing through and stir well, then spoon it over the lettuce. Scatter over the cucumber, sprinkle with chives, then drizzle with the rest of the oil and season everything with salt and pepper. Serve.

(Original recipe from Gather by Gill Meller, Quadrille Publishing, 2017.)

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Venison with Sweet Potatoes and Butter beans

Posted in Food, Irish Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 29 July 2022| Leave a Comment »

It seems very odd posting a venison recipe in the summer months but our butcher, Paul, mentioned that some fresh venison had just arrived and we couldn’t resist! Serve with some nice potatoes and greens on the side. Delicious at whatever time of the year you come across some nice venison.

Wine Suggestion: We think this combination of ingredients and flavours works best with a refined Rioja, like the Cantos de Valpiedra. From a passionate family that has a truly special vineyard on a sharp bend of the Ebro River so that the vineyards have moderating water on two sides of the triangle this bend forms. Refined, elegant and sophisticated, with characteristic strawberry and hints of vanilla this is a wine worth searching for.

Venison with sweet potatoes & butter beans – serves 6 to 8

  • 50g butter
  • 900g venison haunch, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 50g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 300ml red wine
  • 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
  • 1 litre of chicken or beef stock
  • 450g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
  • 1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Heat the butter in a large casserole with a lid, that you can put in the oven. Season the venison and tip it into the casserole. Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Add the flour and paprika and stir for another minute or two to combine. Pour in the wine and stir constantly until it combines with everything else. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and cover with just enought stock to cover the meat.

Bring the casserole to the boil, then season. Cover with a lid and put into the oven for 1 hour. After the hour is up, stir in the sweet potatoes and butter beans, then return to the oven for a further hour. The venison and sweet potatoes should be tender.

Spoon the casserole into warm bowls and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley. We like some potatoes and greens on the side too.

(Original recipe from Neven Maguire’s Complete Family Cookbook, Gill Books, 2016.)

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Butter Beans with Preserved Lemon, Chilli and Herb Oil

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 30 March 2022| Leave a Comment »

These are delicious and perfect with some crusty bread or flatbreads for scooping. Do buy the fancy butter beans in a glass jar if you can. You can make this up to a day ahead and the flavours will improve.

Wine Suggestion: We really like this dish with a nice, chilled Vermentino. Tonight’s choice, the Poggio ai Ginepri Bianco from Tenuta Argentiera in Bolgheri. Long and vibrant with a rich citrus and pear flavour and layers of texture and wild sage to finish.

  • 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 mild red chillies, finely chopped, including the seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds, finely crushed with a pestle and mortar
  • 3 preserved lemons (80g), inner parts discarded and skin finely sliced
  • 1 ½ tbsp roughly chopped thyme leaves
  • 4 sprigs of rosemary
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 170ml olive oil
  • 1 jar of butter beans (700g)
  • 2 large vine tomatoes, roughly grated and skins discarded

Put the garlic, chillies, coriander, preserved lemon, thyme, rosemary, tomato purée, olive oil and 1¼ tsp of flaked salt into a medium sauté pan on a medium-low heat and stir together. Heat gently for 25 minutes, or until very fragrant but not browned at all. Turn the heat to low if the oil gets to hot.

Stir in the butter beans, then turn the heat up to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least an hour, or longer if you can.

Meanwhile, mix the grated tomato with ⅓ tsp of flaked sea salt and plenty of black pepper.

Spoon the butter beans into a shallow bowl and spoon over the grated tomato, mixing it in in places. Then serve with crusty bread or flatbreads.

(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad & Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury Press, 2021.)

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Sausage Cassoulet

Posted in Food, tagged , , , , , , , on 27 November 2021| Leave a Comment »

This is a much simplified version of the French classic but very tasty and popular with kids.

Wine Suggestion: something red, juicy and honest, like a good southern French GSM blend, like Roc des Anges Effet Papillon rouge.

Sausage Cassoulet – serves 6

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 12 sausages
  • 4 large onions, sliced
  • 50g chorizo, very finely chopped
  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • a small handful of flatleaf parsley, chopped, to garnish (optional)

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan or casserole dish over a high heat, then brown the sausages on all sides, then remove and set aside. You will probably need to do this in a couple of batches.

Add the rest of the oil and fry the onions for a few minutes until turning golden. Stir in the chorizo, tomatoes, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and black pepper, then simmer over a gentle heat for 20-25 minutes or until the onions are softened.

Stir in the butter beans, then lay the sausages on top and cover with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes or unitl the sausages are cooked through.

Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with some greens on the side.

(Original recipe from Mary Berry Cooks up a Feast with Lucy Young, DK: Penguin Random House, 2019.)

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Slow-cooked Squid with Peperonata and Butter Beans

Posted in Fish, Food, Gluten-free, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 30 September 2021| Leave a Comment »

We love squid and are not sure why people don’t cook it more often. It’s cheap and sustainable, and this sweet and sour version is delicious! We served with some plain couscous.

Wine Suggestion: This is excellent with a youthful and medium bodied Sangiovese with its bright acidity. Instead of looking to Tuscany tonight, we had a Corsican Niellucio which is the same grape

Slow-cooked squid with peperonata and butter beans – serves 4 to 6

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 red, yellow or orange peppers, a mixture ideally, deseeded and sliced
  • 1 red onion, finely sliced
  • 100g soft cooking chorizo, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 4 sprigs thymes
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 50ml red wine vinegar
  • 25g caster sugar
  • 500ml passata
  • 400g squid, cleaned and sliced (we used a packet of frozen squid tubes, defrosted)
  • 1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the peppers and onions over a medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until very soft, stir now and then and add a splash of water if they start to catch.

Add the chorizo and chilli flakes and cook for another 5 minutes or until the chorizo has released its oil. Add the thyme, garlic, and bay, and simmer for another couple of minutes, then add the vinegar and sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the passata, then swirl a splash of water round the jar and add that too. Season and bring to a simmer.

Stir the squid into the simmering sauce, then cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 1 hour. If the liquid doesn’t cover the squid you can add a splash of water. Check after the hour to see if the squid is tender but don’t let it go to mush.

Stir in the butter beans and check the seasoning, then simmer, uncovered, to thicken the sauce a little. Cook for another 10 minutes, then stir in the parsley and serve with couscous or crusty bread.

(Original recipe by Anna Glover in Olive Magazine, September 2021.)

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Baked Cod & Butter Beans

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , , on 30 July 2020| Leave a Comment »

Baked Cod & Butter Beans

An easy, midweek fish dish that’s perfect for two.

Wine Suggestion: despite being a fish dish this works with red wine, though we’d suggest nothing too heavy or rich. Tonight Domaine Rochette’s Morgon Cote du Py added an earthy texture and density and is a good example of why we should be drinking more Beaujolais.

Baked cod and butter beans – serves 2

  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • 400g tin cherry tomatoes
  • 400g tin butter beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 chunky pieces of skinless cod loin
  • 35g breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp chopped rosemary
  • 25g grated Parmesan

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Cook the onion and garlic until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the fennel seeds and cook for a minute. Add the cherry tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the butter beans and season.

Sit the cod pieces in the beans. Mix the breadcrumbs with the rosemary, Parmesan, seasoning and a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle the crumbs over the fish and bake for 15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the fish cooked.

(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in Olive Magazine, July 2019.)

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Giant Butter Bean Stew

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 11 March 2019| Leave a Comment »

Giant Butter Bean Stew

This Greek butter bean stew can be served on it’s own either as a starter or as a veggie main. The kitchen smells fab as it cooks and you can have it ready in advance and just reheat to serve. We like it served on the side of some barbecued lamb, spinach rice and radish tzatziki.

Wine Suggestion: This dish shines with light and fresh red wines with little or no oak. Good on it’s own with the Rocca delle Macie Chianti Vernaiolo, an unoaked and youthful wine. However, the other night we served it with lamb, as part of a larger meal so chose the vibrant Gulfi Cerasuolo, a Nero d’Avola and Frappato blend from Sicily. Bright red fruits, an earthy depth and fresh finish complimented the lamb to the dill and feta. I think we’ll be drinking more of this wine in future.

Giant Butter Bean Stew – serves 6 as a side

  • 2 x 400g tins good quality butter beans
  • 50ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large red onion, finely sliced
  • 1 large carrot, finely sliced
  • 1 celery stalk with leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 sundried tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • small pack flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • small pack dill, finely chopped
  • 100g feta, crumbled

Drain the butter beans and reserve 100ml of the liquid.

Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and cook the onions, carrots and celery until tender and the onions are soft and transparent, but not coloured. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reserving half of the chopped herbs and feta, and season. Squeeze the tinned tomatoes with your hands as you add them to the dish to break them up.

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Cook over a gentle heat for another 5 minutes, then add the reserved liquid. Cover the dish and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Check occasionally and add more water if the dish looks dry.

Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir through the reserved herbs, season to taste, then crumble over the remaining feta.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

 

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Sausage, tomato & butter bean bake

Posted in Food, Pork, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on 2 September 2011| 1 Comment »

We know we have done this before but this is a really simple mid-week version and not at all stressful to cook. If you’re not keen on butter beans you could use haricot or borlotti instead. We love butter beans!

Sausage tomato and butter bean bake – to serve 3-4

  • 6-8 large pork sausages, plain or flavoured
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 x 400g cans butter beans, rinsed and drained
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan. Add the sausages and cook gently for a minute or two or until just sealed and lightly browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate.

Wipe out the frying pan and add the rest of the oil. Tip in the onion and sage and sauté very gently for around 10 minutes until the onion is very soft but not coloured. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, then cook for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has reduced a bit and thickened. Season to taste.

Put the tomato mixture into an ovenproof dish, stir in the beans, then arrange the sausages on top, burying them in the mixture. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the sauce bubbles and the sausages are cooked.

[Original recipe by Ainsley Harriott for BBC Good Food, August 2009]

Wine suggestion: Try a lighter red with a bit of acidity as the tomatoes will be acidic and it’s all about balance. Try something with Sangiovese or  a Cabernet Franc from the Loire.

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