Category Archives: butter beans

Recipe: Anna Jones’ Four colours of portable picnic dips

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Each of these easy dips use tinned pulses as a base. They all follow the same formula: once you get the hang of the ratios, you can experiment and try different flavour combinations. They each follow the same basic method.

Prep 20 min
Serves 4

Easy hummus
Pulse: 1 x 400g tin chickpeas
Garlic: 1 small clove
Tahini: 1 tbsp
Citrus: Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Liquid: 4 tbsp olive oil, 100ml ice water
Top with: olive oil, toasted and bashed coriander seeds, lemon zest, pul biber (Turkish chilli flakes)

Black bean and cumin hummus
Pulse: 1 x 400g tin black beans
Garlic: 1 small clove
Tahini: 1 tbsp black tahini
Citrus: Juice of 2 limes
Liquid: 4 tbsp olive oil, 200ml ice water
Top with: black sesame seeds, toasted cumin seeds

Summer herbs butterbean dip
Pulse: 1 x 400g tin butter beans
Garlic: ½ small clove
Liquid: 4 tbsp olive oil, 150ml ice water
Citrus: Juice of 1 lemon
Top with: more herbs, olive oil

Pink cannellini and beetroot dip
Pulse: 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans
Garlic: 1 small clove
Liquid: 200g cooked beetroot, drained and pureed
Tahini: 1 tbsp
Citrus: Juice of ½ lemon and ½ orange
Liquid: 200g cooked beetroot, drained and pureed
Top with: orange and lemon zest, sliced radishes

Put the drained tin of pulses, garlic, tahini (if using) and citrus juice and zest (if using) into a food processor and blitz smooth, adding the oil/water/beetroot bit by bit until you have a creamy dip. Add your toppings, then serve with raw vegetables, crackers and flatbread for dipping.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jun/18/anna-jones-recipes-puy-lentil-picnic-salad-dips#img-1

WOW! Burgers

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I keep asking SheWhoMustBeFed where the name for these burgers comes from. The answer seems to involve either She or one of the LoinFruits exclaiming “Wow! They’re nice burgers.” upon first tasting them. Personally, I keep thinking that “WOW” must surely be some clever acronym.

Here are some suggestions from the long list of possibilities:

  • World Of Warcraft
  • Women Of Wrestling
  • War Of the Worlds
  • Women On Wheels
  • Wendy O Williams
  • Whip ’em Out Wednesdays

However you slice that (potential) acronym these are indeed a tasty burger that hangs together really well (courtesy of the oats and the linseed) that also have a really great ‘mouth feel’ due to the inclusion of all the seeds and the veggies.

Wow, what do I put in them?

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup pepitas
  • 1/4 cup linseeds
  • 3/4 cup oats (or replace with gluten free flour)
  • 1 medium zucchini, grated
  • 1 medium carrot, grated
  • 2 1/4 cups of butter beans, mashed
  • 2 TBSP Tamari
  • 1/2 TSP ground pepper
  • 1 TBSP finely chopped rosemary
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Wow, those all sound good! What do I do with them?

  • Process the nuts, seeds and oats in a Bamix or similar until grainy but not powdery
  • Thoroughly mix everything in a large bowl
  • Form into patties (this recipe should make about 12 patties)
  • Fry or bake
  • Exclaim “Wow! They’re nice burgers.” upon first tasting them

As with all burger mixes, these will hold together even better if made ahead of time and refrigerated for a few hours (cover container).

 

Harissa beetroot and aubergine

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The VegHead exceeded government guidelines on the consumption of alcohol last night. Thursday was, therefore, a “slow” day. Earlier in the week, prior to this unfortunate slip in decorum, The VegHead and SheWhoMustBeFed had earmarked Thursday dinner as Beetroot and Aubergine Sri Lankan Curry night, on account of having a particularly nice looking aubergine (tight, dark flesh and firm to the touch) as well as two precooked (and un-vinegar-ed) beetroots in the fridge. However, come dinnertime both comfort food and ease of preparation was called for. Thus, I introduce to you “the lazy version” of the curry. Total cooking time is not much more than the time it takes for the aubergine to cook through.

Needing (serves two):

  • 2 cooked beetroots (not preserved in vinegar or salt), cubed
  • 1 medium aubergine, cubed in a chunky sort of way
  • 1 cup of cooked butter beans
  • a few thin slices of onion
  • 2 tablespoons of harrisa paste (or more or less to taste)
  • olive oil
  • generous handful of chopped fresh coriander
  • 1/3 cup of coconut milk

To do:

  • sauté the aubergine, beans, onion, and paste in a generous splash of olive oil
  • once the aubergine is cooked, add the beetroot (adding the beetroot later in the cooking process ensures that you end up with some colour variation in the meal. Add it too early and everything just ends up purple. As the beetroot’s already cooked, you’re really just warming it up and getting it coated it spice)
  • just before serving, mix through the coriander and the coconut milk

Serve with mashed potato a.k.a. “comfort food”

Roast butter bean and celeriac

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The cumin/pepper/ginger sauce used in this is originally from a “Marinated tofu” recipe from some or another commercial cookbook that populates our shelves. It has become a widely used marinade for beans, broad beans, tofu, cauliflower and lots more. Its just one of those sauces that “works”.

You will need:

  • 1 cup of cooked butter beans
  • half a celeriac, peeled and cubed to approximately 2cm cubes
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin powder
  • 2 teaspoons of ground black pepper (this will make it fairly spicy)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 cm of ginger root, grated
  • a generous splash each of tamari, olive oil, mirin, and toasted sesame oil

To make:

  • Mix everything together in a bowl
  • Pour mixture into a lidded baking dish (take the lid off before pouring)
  • Just cover with water
  • Bake at inferno for 45 minutes

Served with a large bag of baby spinach leaves, lightly stir fried with chopped mushrooms, and a light sprinkly of (vegan) Worcestershire sauce.

Potato and bean balls

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The Larger Loinfruit polished off nine of these together with a salad for dinner, and had to be dissuaded from stealing a tenth off the plate of the Smaller Loinfruit, who isn’t as keen on them and who would have been happy to foist one off his plate if he could have got away with it.

These balls cook to a lovely light golden colour, however their popularity meant there were none left to pose for the camera so you’ll just have to take The VegHead’s word for it. Perhaps next time the potato paparazzi will be in town.

All well as keeping Larger Loinfruit fed, these are a good grown up party finger food, and can be made and refrigerated ahead of time and placed into the oven 20 minutes before you need them.

When you roll the balls, aim for a bit smaller than a squash ball.

The following makes about 12 balls, depending on how large you make them.

You will need:

  • 1 large potato; peeled, boiled and mashed
  • 1/2 cup of cooked butter beans (or haricot)
  • 1/4 cup of finely ground roasted cashews (not salted variety)
  • 1 slice of wholemeal bread, finely crumbed
  • pinch of black pepper
  • pinch of cumin powder
  • 1 fine slice of red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced

Get all dressed up and go to the Potato and Bean Ball:

  • No black tie required, but roll up your sleaves and make sure someone is around afterward to turn on the tap so you can wash your hands
  • Lightly saute the onion and garlic in olive oil
  • Mash all ingredients together
  • Knead lightly until mixture binds fairly well
  • Form into evenly sized balls
  • Grease a baking tray lightly with olive oil
  • Lightly brush each ball with same oil
  • Bake in a medium oven for 15-20 minutes

This recipe is courtesy of SheWhoMustBeFed

I’m a funghi, but I’m feeling a little green

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You see what I’ve done there don’t you? “Funghi”….”fun guy”…oh the wit. When you’ve stopped guffawing just pick yourself up off the floor and hold together your split seams.

This pasta dish uses the Balsamic Butter Bean Salad and tosses it over some pesto tagliatelle pasta. Simple…hearty…colourful…what more could you want?

You will need:

  • A batch of pesto
  • A batch of Balsamic Butter Bean Salad
  • 1/2 glass of white wine (I’ll leave it to you to figure out what to do with the other half a glass)
  • Spelt tagliatelle pasta (or penne, or whatever)

Now ze doing:

  • Cook the pasta as per instructions on packet
  • Meanwhile; dump about 3/4 cup of the pesto into a small saucepan, together with the wine. Simmer (covered) over a low heat until the wine is reduced, stirring regularly to ensure it doesn’t stick.
  • Stir the pesto/wine sauce through the cooked pasta, together with an additional teaspoon of fresh pesto (the pesto has raw garlic in it – so you’re cooking most of it and then just adding a little “raw” pesto in to sharpen up the taste a little)
  • Serve the pasta, then top with the (warm) bean salad

Balsamic Butter Bean Salad

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It can’t be summer….not where The VegHead is anyway. The give away is the fact that its very white outside, and more white stuff is falling from the sky. So it must be either snowing, or a CIA aeroplane carrying a cocaine shipment has exploded in mid-air overhead. As Kate Moss is absent from the scene…it’s probably snow.

If it was summer then perhaps this salad would perhaps be being served to guests as we sipped Pimms into the long English evenings. It is very nice either warm, or “room temperature” (have you ever wondered “Which room?”).

Anyway…this ended up being the basis for a pasta dish for dinner last Thursday. I was going to write up the recipe for that, until as she was eating dinner SheWhoMustBeFed exclaimed “Hey…isn’t this the butter bean salad thing with balsamic vinegar?”. Clever thing she is…

So instead of writing up that dish in full, it seemed more sensible to write up this dish, and then in the recipe for the pasta dish just refer back to this. Are you following?

Needing:

  • 1 cup of cooked butter beans
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 cup of small fresh button mushrooms
  • thick, gorgeous, sweet balsamic vinegar
  • pinch of ground black pepper
  • olive oil
  • tamari

Do it to me baby:

  • Peel the onion and top and tail it. Halve it “across”. Then quarter each of those halves. Then peel apart the layers, making little “cups” of onion.
  • Very lightly saute the onion in a little olive oil
  • Add the mushrooms, beans, pepper and tamari. Continue over a low heat for a few minutes.
  • Heavily drizzle with balsamic vinegar
  • Stir and serve

Giant baked beans

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This is a home developed version of a traditional Greek dish known as γίγαντες πλακί, which I am sure that you know is pronounced yee-gahn-dess plar-kee. Also known as “baked beans for grown ups” (*).

This dish is also used as a basis for several other recipes in the VegHead’s kitchen, so if you see another recipe that calls for “giant baked beans” this is it. We make a batch of this up generally once a week and most of it then goes into other recipes.

Things wot go in…

  • 500 grams of cooked butter beans
  • 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 small onion, finely sliced and chopped
  • 2 teaspoons of chopped dill
  • 2 teaspoons of chopped parsley
  • Ground pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon of light miso
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • Boiled water

The doing…

  • Dissolve the miso and tomato pastes in about 1/4 cup of boiled water
  • Mix all ingredients. If it looks too dry add a little more water. If you accidentally add too much water then increase the cooking time.
  • Bake in a covered dish in a pre-heated hot oven for about 30 minutes

* hahaha – just reviewed this post before publishing and spotted that I had mistyped “baked beans for grown ups” as “naked beans for grown ups”. Lucky I saw that…

Lasagna

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Yes it is possible to create a completely vegan lasagna – not ‘vegetarian’ (with cheese).

Ingredients…

The red layer

  • 1/2 block of tempeh – grated
  • 1 medium carrot – grated
  • 1 medium onion – finely chopped
  • 2 medium chopped tomatoes
  • 1 knob of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1 small aubergine, grated
  • 2 tblspoons of tomato paste
  • 2 tblspoons of miso paste
  • 1 cup of red wine
  • Fresh herbs – chopped; parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil
  • (Optional – 2 small hot, red chillies, chopped)

The white layer

  • 1 cup of cooked white beans (generally haricot or butter beans)
  • Flour – amount of flour, oil, milk varies depending on size of cooking container
  • Olive oil
  • Soy milk

The green layer

  • 1/2 cup of steamed spinach – blended or finely chopped

Plus – lasagne sheets

The doing..

The red layer

  • Lightly sauté onions in oil until clear
  • Add garlic, and chillies and sauté for an additional minute
  • Dissolve tomato and miso paste in over medium heat, with red wine
  • Combine with all other ingredients in a large bowl

The white layer

  • Blend beans to a smooth paste with a little soy milk
  • Cook flour and olive oil over a low heat, stirring regularly, to a thick paste.
  • Add soy milk to flour paste to create approximate consistency of thick (diary) cream.
  • Add to bean paste and blend until combined thoroughly

Putting it all together

  • Layer in a baking dish as per usual lasagna method ie. red layer, then lasagna pasta, then green layer, then white. Repeat stack – finishes with white on top
  • Bake at 180c for approximately 45 minutes