White bean and Vegetable Soup
There is nothing like a hot bowl of soup to make you feel nourished and this White Bean and Vegetable Soup ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to giving you a hug in a bowl. With a good shot of garlic, it provides […]
Tag: beans
Mushroom and Butter Bean Burgers
Whatever it is about putting something hot in a bun with some salad and sauce which makes some delicious magic happen, we can’t get enough of it! But you don’t always need to turn to meat or fake meat to make that happen. These Mushroom […]
Herby Bean Crumble
Ok I know a crumble is usually sweet – but it doesn’t have to be that way! This Herby Bean Crumble is a great way of making beans less of a side and more of a main meal. It’s easy to throw together and freeze in advance so you can serve it with a dinner or just enjoy on its own with a salad or vegetables. I also love this as an alternative baked potato topping.
You can use four different tins of beans or ready mixed ones. I also use beans I have boiled up from dried in a big batch, just use the final cooked weight to measure. When it comes to cheese I think a nice strong Cheddar works well, but adjust to suit your palette.
Herby Bean Crumble
October 5, 2018
: 4-6
: 10 min
: 45 min
: Easy
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 red onions, finely sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 (400g) tins of cooked beans, drained
- 2 (400g) tins of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp Marmite (or Vegemite or any yeast extract)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried sage
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 3 bay leaves
- Black pepper
- For the crumble:
- 100g wholemeal plain flour
- 50g cold butter
- 100g rolled oats
- 75g grated cheddar cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Soften the onion and garlic in the oil in a large saucepan, lid on, for around 5mins.
- Step 2 Add the tins of tomatoes, Marmite, oregano, sage, rosemary and bay leaves. Stir well and cook with the lid on for 10mins on a medium heat.
- Step 3 Remove the bay leaves.
- Step 4 Add the beans and combine, cook on a medium heat for 5mins.
- Step 5 Pour into a large bake-safe serving or casserole dish.
- Step 6 Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 220 °C/ Gas 7
- Step 7 Make the crumble by grating the flour and cold butter together. Then add the cheese and rolled oats and mix well. Sprinkle over the top of the bean mix.
- Step 8 Bake for 25 minutes until the top is crisp and browning.
Italian Kale Stew
I am lucky enough to have a friend who embraces veggies and throws together meals with them so well I want to recreate their fantastic flavours as soon as I return home. And this Italian Kale Stew came about as a direct result of a […]
Bean and Celeriac Stew
I fell in love with a bag of dried beans in Waitrose the other week. I know, weird stuff happens to me! After admiring the 10 different beans in the mix I realised I needed to cook something which really celebrated them and made them […]
It’s a Double Hitter – Bean Stew and Bean and Tuna Salad
Dried beans generally make people nervous. They look like hard work and in our want-it-now lifestyle they seem like too much forward planning work. Plus you have to boil them for hours don’t you? Erm, well no! And they are a quick and easy way of making something special out of a couple of very simple recipes in this double whammy of a dish. I like to serve it hot one day as a side, almost like a bit of a stew. Then next day it makes a great base for a salad – I just add some finely chopped red onion and a tin of tuna for a completely different take on the dish. The perfect salad. So if you are getting at least two meals out of the dish perhaps it’s worth boiling those beans after all!
The beans I use are called Argentinian Beans, they are slightly bigger than a cannellini but smaller than a butter bean. They are sometimes known as ‘white beans’ which is an accurate description. I usually pick them up from the Mediterranean section of larger supermarkets or in Greek or Turkish supermarkets.
The only prep you need to do is to soak the beans the night before or pop them in cold water first thing. I would let them have pretty much 12 hours but more is fine too. They will really plump up and mean you have to cook them for less time. And don’t be fooled by how simple this dish is, I promise you it is so tasty.
Dried beans are also brilliant to have in your store cupboard as they can be added to soups, stews and salads and take up less space than the canned variety. They also work out very cost effective. The beans in this dish come to a purse friendly 75p and overall the dish can be made for around £1.90 for four portions of the stew. A little more when the tin of tuna and onion is added.
If you feel you need to bulk out the salad the next day you can serve the beans on a bed of green salad or mix in some shredded spinach.
It’s a Double Hitter – Bean Stew and Bean and Tuna Salad
July 25, 2017
: 4
: 10 min
: 45 min
: 55 min
Ingredients
- 200g Argentinian Beans
- 250g new potatoes, cut in half for small ones or quarters if they are a little larger
- 200g carrots, peeled and cut into chunks about the same size as the potatoes
- One stock cube
- handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- For the salad:
- One shallot finely chopped
- One tin or jar of tuna
Directions
- Step 1 Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Remove the water the next day and cover with more fresh cold water, so there is double the amount of water over the beans as there are beans (as if the depth was in thirds, one-third beans, two-thirds water) and crumble in the stock cube or bouillon. Bring to the boil and simmer for 25mins.
- Step 2 Add the cut up potatoes to the pot and simmer for another 5mins. Then add the carrots. During the cooking add splashes of water if the water level goes down further than the top of the mixture. You don’t want to add too much as the fluids should recede during the cooking process.
- Step 3 After around 10mins all the vegetables and the beans should be cooked through. There shouldn’t be too much fluid left, if there is spoon some off so you have just a few tablespoons left in with the veg and potatoes. Season to taste.
- Step 4 Add the parsley, lemon and olive oil and serve hot as a stew.
- Step 5 To serve as a salad allow to cool and add the finely chopped shallot and tuna. If you feel you would like to add more lemon and olive oil then do so before serving.
Curried Bean Burgers
When you don’t eat meat the quest begins to find the ultimate filling for a ‘burger’. Because it’s something I don’t eat out really, I really want to make the perfect burger at home. Texture is as important as taste in this situation because it’s […]