Quick ideas
Greens & Beans
An adaptable dish that essentially braises greens in wine and stock with a few beans to add protein and make it feel substantial. The skill is in adding the ingredients in the order in which they best cook, to keep it bright and fresh. Most of the ingredients just need a few minutes to become tender in the steamy heat of the pan. You can switch ingredients depending on season and availability. Cooking a lettuce may seem like an odd idea but the sweet and slightly bitter little gems are robust enough to handle the heat.
Cook's notes
You can finish the dish with a small dash of cream, crème fraiche or mascarpone if you want some extra indulgence. Some freshly chopped herbs can add extra character too – a little thyme or oregano in the early stages of cooking, or a handful of parsley, mint, or chervil at the very end.
Ingredients
- 1 courgette, cut into a 2cm dice
- 4 spring onions, roughly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- small glass of white wine
- 300g cooked white beans – we use Bold Beans
- 250ml good vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 little gem lettuce, cut into thin wedges
- 100g asparagus, trimmed and sliced
- 50g podded garden peas
- 60g podded, blanched and skinned broad beans
- 80g spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 lemon
- Parmesan, or vegan alternative to serve
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Method
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Step 1
Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan over a medium heat. Add the courgettes and cook for about 8 minutes, until starting to soften. Stir them often and try to avoid getting any colour, add a small dash of water if they start to catch in the pan.
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Step 2
Now, throw in the spring onions and let them cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and the white wine and let the wine bubble and reduce by at least half.
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Step 3
Tip in the white beans and the stock. Bring it up to a simmer and season with salt to taste. Lay the little gem wedges in the pan and then pop on the lid. Cook gently for 4-5 minutes.
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Step 4
Next, add the asparagus and peas. Pop the lid back on, it’ll only take about 3 minutes for them to cook through and become tender.
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Step 5
Turn off the heat and stir in the broad beans and spinach. Pop the lid back on and leave for a couple of minutes for the residual heat to reheat the beans and wilt the spinach.
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Step 6
Taste and tweak the seasoning to your liking with salt and pepper. Serve immediately into bowls and garnish with a little lemon zest and plenty of Parmesan. Have some lemon wedges to hand to tweak the acidity.