Tag: cannellini beans

Cannellini bean, lamb, celeriac soup

This is a rich, chunky soup with lots of flavour and it uses lots of ingredients that I can get locally. It is another Ottolenghi recipe. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped 
  • 170g celeriac, in bits about the size of a cannellini bean
  • 2 heads of garlic, peeled
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 500g lamb, in 2cm cubes
  • 1.75 litres of water
  • 1 can of cannellini beans OR 100g dried beans, soaked overnight and drained. 
  • 7 cardamom pods, lightly squashed
  • (you could add a stick of cinnamon as well)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp caster sugar or date syrup
  • 4 firm potatoes such as Charlotte or Jersey Royal, 2cm cubes
  • salt and black pepper
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Chopped coriander and green chillies (depending on your taste)

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and fry the onion and celeriac over a medium heat until starting to brown. This takes around 5 minutes
  • Add the garlic cloves and cumin and cook for another two minutes before turning off the heat. 
  • Put the meat and water in a large pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for around 10 minutes, and skim the surface to get a clear broth. 
  • Add the onion and celeriac, the soaked cannellini beans, (if using tinned beans, wait until later) along with the turmeric, cardamom, sugar and tomato puree. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour so that the lamb and beans are tender. 
  • Add the potatoes, 1 level tsp salt, pepper, canned beans, and bring back to the simmer. Cook for a further 20 minutes, with the lid off the pan, to thicken the soup. 
  • When the soup is cooked, add the lemon juice and check the seasoning. Serve garnished with chopped coriander. You could add chopped parsley and hot green chillies. Ottolenghi gives a recipe for Zhoug which can be used as a garnish. 

Serve with bread. 

Lou’s vegan chilli

My sister Louise made this for one of the meals at Christmas. It doesn’t cost much, can be used with tinned ingredients, and it is vegan and delicious. It also freezes well. There are various substitutions and variations that can be made, depending on what you have in the kitchen. As you vary the ingredients, you may find that the fluid quantities need adjusting, so keep an eye on it as it cooks and top up as required. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 cm of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped – vary quantity to taste
  • 1 tbsp chilli flakes, for example, pul biber – pick your favourite for heat, or add sriracha chilli sauce
  • 1 tsp cumin (ground, or whole seeds bashed in a pestle and mortar)
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 3 tins of tomatoes, chopped for preference
  • 300g green lentils, presoaked
  • 200g of starch grain, such as bulgar wheat, pearl barley, brown rice or buckwheat. Not couscous
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder, or 100g dark chocolate
  • 400g tin of beans, such as haricot beans, cannelini beans, navy beans, black-eyed beans. Alternatively, soak 300g dried beans overnight, and simmer for 45 minutes to cook. 
  • 1 to 2 litres of marigold stock or other stock
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Use a very large pan. Heat the vegetable oil over a low heat, and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for ten minutes, until it is soft. 
  • Add the chilli, cumin and paprika, and cook for a further two minutes. 
  • Add 1 litre of stock and all of the other ingredients, and bring to a simmer. 
  • Simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, topping up with stock as required. Stop when the lentils and grains are cooked. 
  • Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

  • Tortillas or wraps, with yoghurt
  • Spooned over corn chips, topped with grated cheese and grilled, served with guacamole and salsa
  • In a taco with all of the extra bits
  • In a sandwich with grated cheese, possibly toasted
  • With brown rice, sour cream and chopped tomatoes or a side serving of green vegetables. (which is what we had with Lou)

 

Lamb stew with potatoes and beans

We went to Exeter, stayed in Topsham and visited Darts Farm shop, where there were many lovely things. I have to say, though, I thought the idea of a farm shop was to sell local produce. Some of the produce wasn’t that local, we found Hebridean Smokehouse smoked salmon on sale. We picked up many rare treats, and some recipe cards. This recipe was on one of them, adapted from Mary Berry. I have added some additional instructions.  

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1kg lamb neck chops, lamb neck fillet or other stewing lamb. 
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 4 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp Madras curry powder
  • 450ml stock
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tbsp mango chutney
  • 400g tin haricot or cannelloni beans, OR 200g beans, soaked and then boiled in water for an hour
  • 200g potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks, or a similar weight of large yellow carrots. 
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Preheat the oven to 160C
  • In a large casserole dish, heat half of the vegetable oil on quite a high heat, and brown the pieces of lamb, in batches. Remove from the pan to a plate once this is done. 
  • Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the onion, celery and garlic for around 10 minutes over a low heat. 
  • Add the spices and fry for another thirty second or so, before adding the stock, tomaotes, tomato puree and mango chutney. Bring to the boil.
  • Add the lamb, salt and pepper, bring back to a simmer and put the lid on the dish. Put this in the oven for an hour. 
  • If you are preparing this ahead of time, now is the time to put the casserole in the fridge or freezer
  • Put the casserole back on the hob, and add the beans and potatoes. Bring everything back to the boil, put the lid back on, and back in the oven for 50 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked. 

We served this with green vegetables. It was delicious. 

Beans, garlic, dill and eggs

I can hardly wait to tell you about this recipe, or to eat it again. It is delicious, and dangerously garlicky, so I think I will be in trouble at work tomorrow. I made it with tinned beans, but the original recipe starts from scratch. I got the recipe from the remarkable book, Nightingales and Roses. These are recipes from all over Iran, organised by seasonal availability of ingredients. Where she wins over my other current favourite book, Jerusalem, is her serving suggestions. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 can of cannellini or borlotti beans
  • 50g butter
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 small bulb of garlic, with the cloves peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 3 tsp of dill seed, or 5 tsp dried dill weed, or 30g fresh dill, chopped
  • salt, to taste
  • 4 eggs

METHOD:

  • Melt the butter in a medium lidded frying pan, add the oil and then the chopped garlic, and fry until the garlic is turning golden. 
  • Add the turmeric, pepper, dill, and salt, and then add the can of beans including the water they are in. 
  • Bring to a simmer, and cook, until the mixture is getting drier and thicker. 
  • Make 4 wells in the bean mixture, and into each well, break an egg. Cover the pan and cook on a low heat until the eggs are cooked to your liking. 

The book suggests serving this with a little rice, with side dishes of olives, chopped radishes, smoked fish. We were not so dainty, and served this with a side salad with herbs and some bread, olives and labneh. 

Cannellini Bean, Garlic and Lamb Soup

I’m not sure if this is a soup or a stew. It is very sweet from the gently stewed garlic and lamb, just the most delicious comfort food. I found it in ‘Jerusalem’ by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 to 1/2 head of celeriac, peeled and chopped into small dice
  • 20 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 500g lamb or beef, in 2cm squares
  • 1.75L water
  • 1 can of cannellini beans
  • 7 cardamom pods, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp date syrup or brown sugar
  • 250g small firm potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
  • Salt and pepper
  • Lemon wedges and chopped coriander, to serve

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and celeriac on a medium heat for fie minutes, until the onion starts to brown. 
  • Add the garlic and cumin and cook for another couple of minutes before taking off the heat and setting to one side
  • Put the meat in the water in a large pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook for ten minutes, skimming any foam from the surface.
  • Add the onions, celeriac, beans, cardamom, turmeric, tomato puree and sugar. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for an hour. 
  • Add the potatoes to the soup season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring back to the boil and simmer for a further 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and tender. You may need to add water and stir from time to time to prevent the soup from sticking. 
  • Serve the soup with a squeeze of lemon and some chopped coriander leaves. 

Red cabbage and cannellini bean stew

I have been experimenting with this stew, and have come up with variations that are vegan, vegetarian or just general. I’ll leave it for you to decide how to go about it.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 25g pancetta, (optional)
  • 1 large carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
  • 1 small or half a large red cabbage
  • 2 cans tinned tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tsp chopped rosemary leaves
  • 1/2 tsp chopped sage leaves (optional)
  • 1 can borlotti beans or cannellini beans
  • 1.75 litres of stock (vegetable or beef)

METHOD:

  • In a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the pancetta, onions, garlic, carrots and celery, and fry gently until the vegetables start to brown slightly.
  • Add the cabbage, tomatoes and thyme, stir and cook until the cabbage is tender.
  • Add the stock, the can of beans including liquid, 1 tsp salt and a good amount of black pepper, as well as the other herbs. Cook over a very low heat for two hours, keeping a check to make sure it is not sticking.
  • Once the stew is cooked, check for seasoning, and add extra stock if it seems to need it.

This recipe is based on several others, some of which use Italian black kale, luganega pork sausage, omit the sage, etcetera. Please experiment.