Recipe: Hetty McKinnon’s Green bean tahini casserole with lentils and crispy turmeric shallots

Green bean tahini casserole with lentils and crispy turmeric shallots

100g (1⁄2 cup) puy lentils, rinsed (changed from black lentils in original)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1kg green beans, trimmed and halved
250g fresh shiitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped or sliced
2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
90g (1⁄3 cup) tahini
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
Handful of chopped chives
Sea salt and black pepper

Crispy turmeric shallots

2 French shallots, finely sliced into rounds
2 tbsp rice flour
1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
125ml (1⁄2 cup) sunflower or other high-temperature oil, plus extra if needed
Sea salt and black pepper

Substitute
Shiitake mushrooms: button or Swiss brown mushrooms
French shallots: small red onions
Rice flour: plain flour

Preheat the oven to 190C. Oil a large baking or gratin dish.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the lentils, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are just tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, make the crispy turmeric shallots. Toss the shallot rounds together with the rice flour, turmeric and a pinch of salt and pepper, using your hands to break up the rings so that they are evenly coated.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan until very hot (test with a wooden chopstick or wooden spoon; if it sizzles, the oil is ready). Add the shallot rings to the oil a handful at a time and fry until golden brown. When ready, place them on a paper towel to absorb excess oil and immediately sprinkle with some sea salt. Repeat until all the shallot rings are cooked. Allow to cool.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the beans. Season with sea salt and black pepper and cook for 5–7 minutes, until the beans are tender and turning golden. Remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add another drizzle of oil along with the mushrooms and thyme and cook until the mushrooms have turned golden. Remove from the heat.

Place the tahini in a small bowl, add the lemon juice, garlic and chives
and slowly whisk in cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is the consistency of thickened cream. Season with sea salt and lots of black pepper.

Combine the beans with the mushrooms, lentils and tahini sauce. Transfer to the baking dish and bake for 10-12 minutes. Take the dish out of the oven, top with the crispy turmeric shallots and return to the oven for another five minutes. Serve immediately.

Tips

The crispy turmeric shallots can be made up to a day ahead. If you are short on time, buy ready-made crispy fried shallots from your Asian grocery store or supermarket.

The green bean casserole can be made the day ahead and topped and baked with the onions just before eating.

Other high-temperature oils include peanut or rice bran.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/aug/19/hetty-mckinnons-green-bean-tahini-casserole-recipe

Tunisian Puy Peppers

The spirit of Tunisia entered The VegHead’s kitchen last night and held a little party in the oven. Tunisia, or more accurately the Tunisian Republic, or even more accurately al-Jumhūriyya at-Tūnisiyya, or if you want to show off اجمهورية التونسية sounds like a fairly nice place. Check it out here.

The word “Tunisia” has a degree of French lineage, which perhaps explains the ability of the puy lentils to cross the cultural barriers and get on so nicely with the Tunisian Spice Paste in this dish. Puy lentils are considered by The VegHead to be the best lentil – for three reasons. Firstly they have a lovely and unique peppery flavour. Secondly they hold their shape during cooking. Thirdly, they don’t make The VegHead unpleasant to be near the next day (well….no more than usual). Pub trivia note: They’re the only lentil to be identified by area of cultivation – grown in the Le Puy region of France.

This dish relies on having a jar of Tunisian Spice Paste from Oil and Vinegar. While we generally try to avoid specific, ready made ingredients in these recipes it does seem that Oil and Vinegar have stores in quite a few countries, from the UK to UAE to USA to RSA to Oz, and a few more in between. Their web site however is crap, and you don’t seem to be able to locate the Tunisian Paste via their product search. Oh well….you can’t be good at everything can you?

This is one of those meals where the component parts are all very simple, but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It is simply a stuffed and roasted capsicum, with wok fried cavelo nero and potatoes as side dishes.

The Capsicum

Ingredients:
Note 1: the following quantities are listed per person
Note 2: the quantities of the lentils and mushrooms are approximate and you may need to adjust up/down based on the size of the capsicum

  • 1 large orange/yellow/red capsicum
  • 1/2 cup of cooked puy lentils
  • 1/2 cup of shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped red onion
  • 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons of passata
  • 1 tablespoon of Tunisian paste
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 3 wooden skewers

To construct:

  • Cut out the stalk end of the capsicum, making a hole that is large enough for you to get the stuffing in, but not so large that you just cut the capsicum in half. You’re a clever person, you’ll figure this out! This bulk of the seeds should lift out with the stalk section; slice off the soft flesh that holds the seed ball and compost.
  • Mix all other ingredients thoroughly
  • Stuff the capsicum to just below the lip of the hole. Ensure that it is firmly filled by gently pressing with your fingers
  • Replace the stalk lid
  • Use the skewers to hold the lid in place, pushing each one through the lid at an angle and down through the flesh of the body of the capsicum on the opposite side. The trick here is to angle the skewers such that once you’ve got all three in, they have emerged to form three legs that support the capsicum upright as it cooks.
  • Lightly brush the outside of the capsicum with a little olive oil
  • Bake in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes

The potatoes

  • Cube and roast an orange sweet potato, sprinkled lightly with some italian herbs
  • Boil some desiree type potatoes, and smash them with some soy milk and French Walnut Oil
  • Gently mix the roast and smashed potatoes before serving

The Cavelo Nero

  • Wash the leaves and drain. Remove any gnarly stem ends
  • Chop roughly. Slice any thick stemmy bits along the stem
  • Stir fry with a little olive oil in a hot wok – it will only require a few minutes at most

Serve the capsicum on a bed of the cavelo nero, with the potatoes to the side.