I have been completely swayed by the idea of beans on toast. It's an English thing that I never knew about before living in the UK. Coming from a long line of Boston Bean eaters, it took some adjusting to the tinned variety so popular here. I've now decided there is a happy medium somewhere between the Boston Baked beans of my youth, the delicious Casoulette of France and those popular tinned beans of the UK. I tend to buy packets of Haricot Lingot beans when I visit France, but this warm and satisfying dish can also be made with dried haricot, cannelloni beans, pinto beans or any dried white kidney beans.
There are three main keys to the success of this dish: soak the beans the night before, cook them low and slow in ceramic casserole dish in the oven and don't add any salt or bullion until the beans are soft. Salt inhibits the absorption of water. For some reason the ceramic pot helps them get soft and tender (just think New England Beanpot). As for the amount of vegetables or kind of tinned tomatoes, that is up to you. The recipe is very forgiving.
This is my ceramic bean pot. It was made by an amazing potter down in Dorset. The best part is the lid can be used as a serving dish when it is inverted.
500 gr / 1 lb of white haricot, cannellini, pinto or borlotti beans
3 carrots, quartered and sliced
3 celery stocks, diced
2 small onions or 1 large onion, diced
1 395 g tin of cherry tomatoes or chopped Italian tomatoes
1 500 g tomato passata or sauce (or larger if you have one)
2 t bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
5 garlic cloves, whole
1 bay leaf
Boiling water to cover the beans by 15 mm or 1/2 inch.
Finish with:
1-2 vegetable stock cube, Knorr Veg pot or Marigold buillon
Salt to taste
Chopped flat leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 180 C degrees, then turn down to 150 C once you put the beans in the oven.
Start by soaking the white beans in plenty of water over night. If you have forgotten to do this, pour boiling water over the beans and leave to absorb for an hour. Rinse the beans and set aside. Also, start a full kettle of water to boil.
Dice up the carrots, celery and onions and put in the bottom of the large ceramic bean pot. (This can also be done rather well in a slow cooker on low.)
Add the beans, bicarbonate of soda, bay leaf and whole cloves of garlic. Toss all of ingredients in the pot together to distribute the vegetables amongst the beans. Tuck the whole garlic cloves down deep into the pot. Pour the chopped tomatoes, passata or tomato sauce over the beans. Finally, add 15 mm or 1/2 inch of boiling water over the top of the beans so there is enough fluid for the beans to absorb and get soft.
Cover the bean pot and place it in the hot oven. Turn the temperature down to 150 C and leave to cook for 4 - 5 hours. At about 4 1/2 hours, peak at the beans to make sure there is a enough liquid. Give them a stir and determine if they are soft or need a bit more time. They should break up a bit upon stirring. If you achieve this texture, add the vegetable bouillon and salt/pepper to taste.
I like to serve mine with some grated cheese, Tabasco and toasted sourdough bread or a fluffy jacket potato. This is great made a day ahead and reheated to serve. Freeze some single portions for weeknight meals of beans on toast. You'll never go back to that well know tinned baked bean ever again.
Serves 8 - 10 people.
There are times when I find inspiration from what needs to be used up most urgently in my refrigerator. This pie was born from just that experience one Saturday evening.
The key to this pie is sautéing the courgette and leeks in advance of baking the pie. The other little trick is to add a tablespoon of risotto rice in the bottom of the pie to absorb the extra liquid produced by the juicy courgette. Once baked you don't even notice the texture of the rice.
Courgette, Leek and Feta Pie
2 thin young courgette (zucchini), sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
2 T chopped dill
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 heaped T risotto rice
handful cherry tomatoes (optional)
5 eggs
2 T creme fraiche (in the US use sour cream)
salt
pepper
All butter puff pastry block (ready made is fine)
First a word about cleaning leeks. Slice the leek down the length and run tap water away from the root. This will allow any grit or dirt to run out of it. Slice into semi-circles.
Sautee the courgette and leek in a large pan until soft and slightly browned.
Roll out the puff pastry into a large square and lay it over a ceramic pie plate. Let the pastry hang over the sides to flip over the top of the pie once assembled.
To assemble the pie, sprinkle the risotto rice on the bottom of the pie, cover with half of the dill and the cooled courgette and leek mixture. Add the crumbled feta, remaining dill and cherry tomatoes (optional). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remember the feta has some salt in it, so adjust it accordingly.
Beat the eggs and creme fraiche together. Pour all but 1 T of the egg mixture over the pie. Fold the sides up leaving a steam hole in the middle of the pie. Brush the reserved egg and cream fraiche over the pastry. This will give it a lovely browned finish once it has baked.
Bake at 180 C or 375 F for 45 minutes. Check on the pie part way through, as you might need to protect it with a bit of foil to prevent it burning. To check to see if it is cooked, give the pie a little jiggle. If it feels firm, the egg will have set. If you see any liquid through the steam hole, bake it for another 5-10 minutes.
Allow the pie to cool a bit before serving it with a green salad tossed with a light vinaigrette. The acidity of the salad is a nice balance to the sweetness of the courgette and leeks. It also can be served cold on buffet or at a picnic.
Let me know what you think! It goes quickly.
