The Review - FOOD & DRINK- Cooking with CLARE Published: 21 February 2008
Something to get your pulse rate racing
When the weather’s cold and dreary, Clare Latimer finds herself full of beans
As it is meant to be the depth of winter at the moment I will give two cosy winter recipes this week; if the weather is sunny and bright then just enjoy the temporary heat and put this page in a drawer until the stormy clouds return.
Trust me they will be back before long unfortunately.
Useful tip for these recipes: don’t hold back on the salt as it helps to prevent flatulence!
Bean and cabbage soup
If you want to make this into a main course add some cut up frankfurters, or perhaps a chopped up free range chicken breast half an hour before the end of cooking.
If you are into hot dishes, add a few drops of Tabasco or chop up a hot chilli and blast your friends and family.
Ingredients Serves 6
125g white beans such as cannellini
6 tomatoes
1 large onion, peeled and chopped finely
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped finely
2 stalks celery, washed and chopped finely
1 smallish fennel, chopped finely
2 courgettes, wiped and chopped finely
Good slosh olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 litre water or chicken stock
Half a green cabbage, chopped finely
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Method
Put the beans in cold water and leave overnight and then drain. Put the tomatoes into a saucepan after piercing each one with a sharp knife. Cover with boiling water and leave for one minute or until the skins part where they were cut. Drain and then peel with your hands.
Put the beans into a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover with a lid and cook for one hour. Drain.
Put all the prepared vegetables (except beans and cabbage) into the large saucepan with the olive oil and stew slowly for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beans and stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for three quarters of an hour. Add the cabbage and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for a further quarter of an hour and then test the seasoning. Serve hot.
Haricot bean concoction
I now know where the expression “full of beans” comes from. Whenever I am feeling a bit low and lacking in energy I seem to aim for a dried bean dish and the next day I am bouncing around again. I serve this dish with a stick of French bread sliced and spread with lots of garlic butter, wrapped in foil and baked in a hot oven for 10 minutes so that the butter melts into the bread.
Ingredients
Serves 4
225g dried haricot beans
1 red onion, peeled and chopped
125g smoked bacon lardons, cut up
Little olive oil
1 bay leaf ½ teasp oregano
1 desp maple syrup
2 tbsp dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tin tomato passata
3 tomatoes, thinly slices
50g cheddar cheese, grated.
Method
Cover the beans in cold water and leave overnight and then drain.
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2.
Put the beans into a large saucepan and cover with water and then bring to the boil.
Boil well for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat and simmer for a further 25 minutes and then drain.
Put the onion, lardons and a little olive oil into the large saucepan and gently cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft.
Return the beans to the pan and add the bay leaf and oregano. Stir well.
Add the maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper and the tomato passata and then add just enough water to cover.
Stir well.
Cover and bake in the oven for 4 hours.
Stir, adding more water if you think necessary and then continue to bake for a further 1 hour.
Check there is enough water to prevent the dish drying out and then top with the tomatoes and cheese and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Serve hot.
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