Potato, green bean, white bean and tomato salad

Little s and I went for dinner at his best pal n's house the other day. It's really lucky: they are totally best pals, and happen to live just across the road. Also, his mum has the same birthday as me! It was nice to eat at someone else's house, food made by someone else - one of the things I missed most during the whole lockdown thing. Other people do things different, and even small things can be so refreshing and inspiring. 

We ate this at n's house. s seemed to like it, and I did too. We had basically all the ingredients in the fridge or freezer, so I made our version yesterday.

Boiled cooled potatoes, roughly chopped

Cooked green beans

Cooked white beans

cherry tomatoes, halved

red onion or chives, finely chopped

dressing: capers, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper

Mix potatoes, green beans, white beans, cherry tomatoes, and onion in a bowl. In a separate, small bowl mix chopped capers, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss and serve.

Bean and carrot burgers

We started eating 'burgers' often. This means burger buns filled with all sorts of tasty things: fried or baked halloumi, marinated tofu slices, mushrooms, peppers, onions; fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers; chutney or ketchup etc etc. Sometimes also some kind of veggie burger. But bought ones are rarely delicious, and homemade a little bit faffy, and I hadn't really figured out a good recipe. This one caught my eye, just after I cooked a somewhat excessive amount of white beans, so I gave it a try. 

olive oil 

1/2 cup breadcrumbs 

1 small onion, finely chopped 

1 tbsp tomato puree 

1 1/2 tsp sea salt 

1 cup packed grated carrot (from 2 medium carrots) 

1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar 

3 1/2 cups cooked beans (white or haricot - should be quite squishy) 

1 large egg, beaten pepper 

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and crisp, 3 to 5 min. Put crumbs in a large bowl, then return the pan to the heat.

Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan, followed by the onion. Cook until softened and lightly golden, 8 to 10 min. Stir in the tomato puree, salt, and carrots and stir frequently until the carrots are soft and a bit blistered, another 8 to 10 min. Add the vinegar, scraping up all the browned bits until the pan is dry. Remove from heat and add the bowl with the toasted breadcrumbs. Add beans and use a wooden spoon or spatula to very coarsely mash the mixture until a bit pasty and sticking together - there should still be plenty of beans intact. Add pepper, and more salt if needed, to taste. Stir in the egg. Shape into 6-8 burgers.

To cook the veggie burgers, heat a thin layer of olive oil in the frying pan over medium heat and carefully cook until browned and slightly firm to the touch, 3 to 4 min per side. Serve hot or at room temperature, with whatever you like on or with veggie burgers.

 

The first time I tried these they fell apart. The second time I used squishier beans (haricot not white), and they were great - tasty and texturally interesting and good for fitting in a bun. So make sure the beans are on the squishy side.

Bean, tomato and olive oil galette

I keep forgetting about galettes. They are the answer to pie-making urges when one does not own a pie dish - ie perfect for the onset of cold weather in this house.

When I last made a galette it was delicious and I wanted to make more, then forgot. I wanted to try a different, simpler-looking pastry, with ingredients we're more likely to have in stock, ie this olive oil dough. So that's what I did. For filling, I decided to go with a bean base, since I had just cooked a load of white-borlotti bean mix - figured anything could work as a filling, so long as not wet.

(makes 2 medium pies)

For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fridge cold water
1 beaten egg, for egg wash

For the filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
c 1 cup small tomatoes, chopped
c 2 cups cooked white/borlotti beans

1/2 cup parsley, chopped
salt+pepper
1/2 cup cubed gorgonzola (optional)

Mix salt and flour in a medium bowl with a fork, then mix in the olive oil and rub in until like breadcrumbs. Sprinkle in the cold water gradually (you probably don't need to use all of it) and knead until the pastry comes together - don't over work. Bring together into a ball, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for at least 30-40 min (or, I suspect, up to a few days).

While chilling, make the filling: heat olive oil in a large pan, then soften onions and garlic. Add tomatoes, beans and parsley and saute until well mingled and any extra moisture from the tomatoes has been absorbed. Season to taste and let cool.

When ready to assemble and bake, first heat the oven to 200C. Divide the dough into two and roll out the first half on a well-floured surface until approximately circular. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Spoon the filling onto the rolled-out dough circles, spreading it evenly from the centre until 1.5-2 inches from the edge. Fold in the borders, overlapping the edges and pressing together the folds. Brush the pastry edges with beaten egg. Sprinkle the gorgonzola (if using) over the exposed pie filling in the middle. Turn down the oven to 190C and put the pies in. Bake for 35-40 min, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven, check the bottom is crisp, and let cool on the baking sheet.

These can be stored in the fridge for a few days, travel well wrapped in paper or in a box, and reheat well in the oven (maybe underbake just slightly if planning to reheat in the oven) or microwave.


I am totally enthused by the galette! Thinking this dough could be made ahead and kept in the fridge, then rolled out and filled whenever we want dinner - similar to our go-to pizza dough. Note, I did think this might be a little bit too much salt - the dough perhaps tasted a little salty - would prob be fine with a half tsp. The other filling I almost went with was butternut squash, walnuts and gorgonzola - so many possibilities though... I want to try sweet fillings too!

Walnut pesto (and walnut-cauliflower pasta salad)

Our heap of walnuts remains, as yet undwindling. Seb is mocking me for spending all my spare moments cracking nuts with my Granddads favourite nutcracker from 1981. But the proceeds are so nice. Some went into cookies for people waiting to be deported in Jutland at J's bday get together. For a totally different use, I thought of walnut pesto, I think inspired by this. I adapted that recipe only in as much as I substituted stuff we had in the house.

1 cup shelled walnuts
1 small garlic clove
1/4 cup grated parmesan
3 tsp mixed dried thyme, chilli and salt
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red pesto (subbed for 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes - used a bit less oil and cheese accordingly)

Toast the walnuts and let cool. Put in a blender with the garlic and pulse until roughly chopped. Transfer to a bowl and mix in grated cheese, herbs and salt, vinegar, oil and pesto. Mix together, taste for seasoning and vinegar, and eat on everything.

Some became an awesome pasta salad, with roasted cauliflower and tomatoes, white beans, parsley and diced mozzarella (or feta) - this is recommended. But it works with everything - a spoonful on top of some pasta e ceci, for example...

Sunchoke (jerusalum artichoke) and white bean soup

This is the first time I cooked with sunchokes in ages. They are much more easily available in shops  here than in the UK or the USA. I always thought maybe you didn't see them in shops much because they don't store well, but I guess that is wrong. When I was a kid we had them in the garden, and later L and I had them in our allotment... And they are unkillable (!), so I have eaten plenty of them in the past. I knew them as jerusalem artichokes then, but sunchokes is a better name I think - they are related to sunflowers and nothing to do with Jerusalem, after all. They lend themselves very well to soup. I kept this one simple: sunchokes have quite a distinctive but delicate taste and I didn't want to overpower it / thought they'd play well with white beans.

olive oil
1/2 a large onion, peeled and chopped
4 large sunchokes, well-cleaned and chopped into chunks
500 ml veg stock
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans or butterbeans
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
more olive oil to serve

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and saute for 5-10 min on a low-medium heat, until softened. Add the sunchokes, cover and cook for 10 min or so more, stirring often. Add the veg stock, bay leaf and beans. Simmer for 20-30 min, until the sunchokes are thoroughly cooked and tender. Blend until smooth. Add more water if necessary, and season to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of tasty olive oil, salt and pepper on top.

Exciting pizza

S has a different approach to the kitchen than me. I tend to make different things all the time (as evidenced here), and get bored if I make the same thing too many times. He finds things he likes and makes them again and again until he reaches perfection. Like pasta. Or pretzels: he reaches a level of perfect replication in pretzel shapes that I have never achieved with anything. The latest thing to gain his attention is pizza. Since I discovered the speedy dough trick, we have developed a system: I make the dough and leave it in the fridge, then anytime he wants he can make pizza (and then I can eat it)!

Since we got back from Italy he's been getting awesomely adventurous. One success was white pizza with mozzarella and truffle paste, inspired by pizza we had in Rome and truffles we brought back in a jar. Another, which I guess was more inspired by Otto's in Boston, is pizza with spicy tomato sauce, white beans and potato. I cannot fully express just how well beans work on pizza: they get a little bit crispy on the outside: a bit of a falafel vibe? Very good! Both beans and potato are best cooked before putting on pizza to simplify matters.

White bean, white wine and kale stew

We made an epic ladcykel trip to Istanbul Bazaar the other week. S found a huge bag of white beans and insisted on buying it, on the condition that he cook them himself. A month or so later it became clear this would never happen, so I got started. I cooked a load of them, then we ate white bean things pretty much every night for a work week. See also white bean spread and white bean pasta.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cooked white beans
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup white wine
2-3 kale leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
salt+pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and fry until softened. Add white beans, tomato and white wine and simmer until all is softened and the wine is mostly evaporated. Add kale and oregano, cook for a few minutes more and check for seasoning. Eat with crusty bread. Just as good if not better reheated.

Pasta with white beans, celeriac and sundried tomatoes

The last and best thing I made with my mound of cooked white beans. I never usually cook pasta for S as he always cooks it for himself, so he was especially excited about this. And I thought it worked really well. I took a little inspiration from here and here.

1 tbsp oil from sundried tomatoes (or olive oil)
1 small onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 very small celeriac, peeled and diced into 1 cm dice
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 cups white beans
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water or veg stock
5 sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
enough pasta for 2 people, cooked in boiling salted water until very al dente
4 kale leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp chopped oregano
salt+pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute until starting to soften, 2-3 min. Add diced celeriac and chilli flakes, cover and cook without browning until softened (about 15 min). Meanwhile cook the pasta (v al dente), drain and set aside. Add white beans, white wine and stock/water to the celeriac pan, heat and cook for 10-15 min. Blend using a wand blender until it is about half smooth, half remaining unblended. Add the sundried tomatoes, pasta, kale and oregano and cook for another 5-10 min. Taste for seasoning and serve in bowls.


I thought this was a triumph. Quick, hearty and warming, with a lovely combination of tastes and textures. Blending up part of the bean and celeriac mixture is the key - it makes a delicious sauce that coats the pasta, while the unblended parts keep it toothsome and interesting.

White bean and sundried tomato spread

Another option with all those white beans. This time a dip/spread we took to work to eat with carrot sticks and flatbreads. It was lovely and smooth. Although I added some sundried tomatoes to the blended mixture that time and I wouldn't recommend that as it ends up looking like taramasalata.

1 1/2 cups cooked white beans
1 small clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil (use oil from sundried tomatoes)
juice of 1/4 lemon
salt and pepper

4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
handful of toasted pumpkin seeds

Blend beans, garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Check seasoning, acidity and consistency and add salt/pepper, lemon juice or water accordingly. Put into tubs and top with chopped sundried tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Bean and tomato stew

I am trying to use things up. I don't eat cheese, but S does, and I couldn't let him throw away a perfectly good parmesan rind. This also used up some beans and red wine that had been waiting for their moment for too long. And it's a good combination: beans and tomato and herbs and lush, rich sauce.

~2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tin tomatoes
~2 tbsp tomato puree
1 parmesan cheese rind
1 tin lima beans
~1 1/2 cups white beans (cooked and frozen)
~1/2 cup red wine
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp dried basil
1-2 tsp dried thyme
pinch of dried red chilli flakes
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp dark soy sauce
salt+pepper

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add onion and garlic, cover and cook until softened. Add the remaining ingredients (except salt, pepper and soy sauce), cover and cook for at least 45 min, before turning off the heat, tasting for seasoning (salt, pepper and soy sauce) and letting sit for another half an hour. Remove the cheese rind and bay leaves and reheat to serve. Good with bread or pasta or polenta.

White bean dip

Prepped a large quantity of lima beans (note, soaking with  1/2 tsp bicarb, draining, rinsing and cooking without bicarb seemed to give good results).  Had been dreaming of white beans with pomegranate molasses and spices, so that is what I made.

2 cups cooked white beans (lima)
1-2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1-2 tbsp tahini
1/2 - 1 tbsp olive oil
1 small clove garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt+pepper

Put all ingredients in blender cup and blend til smooth.  Add a little cooking water if it is too thick, until the desired texture is achieved.


This turned out really well.  Was also very very quick and easy to assemble.  S liked it too, and we polished off the first batch in minutes, so I made more straight away.

Beans, seeds and tomato

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (or 3-4 spring onions for quicker cooking)
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
3 handfuls cooked lima beans
1 large tomato
1 tbsp coriander, chopped

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and add the chopped onion.  Cover and cook on medium-low til softened but not coloured, about 10 min.  Meanwhile toast the seeds and chop the tomato and coriander.  When the onion is ready, as the beans, tomato and seeds and then cook for 2-5 min.  Lastly, add the coriander and season to taste.  Surprisingly yum.