There’s a constant ongoing debate about whether you should season beans during or after cooking.
For me, this works: if you are breaking the beans down afterward, be it for hummus or blending them into a soup, it’s easy to season them at that point. But if you eat them whole, adding salt to the water is the only way to truly season them from within. What works for you?
serves 6
Ingredients
Method
The evening before, soak the beans in at least 3x the amount of water. The next day, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Lightly crush the garlic cloves with your palm or the blade of a knife. Drain the beans, rinse them and add to a baking dish along with the olive oil, strips of lemon peel, shallot or onion (cut side down), 1 tsp salt and 650ml of water. If you’re using whole kale leaves, strip the leaves and add the stalks to the beans as well. Cover the oven dish with kitchen foil and cook in the oven for 90 minutes or until the beans are tender. Remove the dish from the oven and let the beans cool off slightly.
While the beans are cooking, make the herb dressing. Add all of the ingredients for the dressing along with 1/4 tsp salt and 50 ml cold water or 50g of ice cubes to a food processor and pulse into a pesto.
For the tahini dressing, mix all of the ingredients together with 2 tbsp of cold water and 1/4 tsp salt. Keep adding water until you have a consistency that you can drizzle.
Remove the shallot/onion, kale stalks, lemon peel and garlic, then drain the beans into a sieve, but keep the cooking liquor. Tip the beans into a bowl along with a generous splash of the cooking liquor (around 100 ml). Pour in the herb dressing and toss together, taking care not to break up the beans.
Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the kale leaves along with a pinch of salt and fry until lightly charred. Add them to the beans and toss together. Spread the beans onto a plate and drizzle over the tahini sauce as well as the chilli powder.
Tender Beans with Herbs & Tahini
Ingredients
For the beans
- 300 g dried cannellini beans
- 3 whole garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 strips of lemon peel (from the lemons below)
- 1 shallot or small onion
- 100 g kale with stems or 60g chopped leaves
- 1 pinch of chilli powder
For the herb dressing
- 40 g parsley with stalk, roughly chopped
- 60 g coriander with stalk, roughly chopped
- 25 g pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp olive oil
For the tahini Dressing
- 50 g tahini
- 1 garlic clove, finely crushed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp mustard
Instructions
- The evening before, soak the beans in at least 3x the amount of water. The next day, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Lightly crush the garlic cloves with your palm or the blade of a knife. Drain the beans, rinse them and add to a baking dish along with the olive oil, strips of lemon peel, shallot or onion (cut side down), 1 tsp salt and 650ml of water. If you're using whole kale leaves, strip the leaves and add the stalks to the beans as well. Cover the oven dish with kitchen foil and cook in the oven for 90 minutes or until the beans are tender. Remove the dish from the oven and let the beans cool off slightly.
- While the beans are cooking, make the herb dressing. Add all of the ingredients for the dressing along with 1/4 tsp salt and 50 ml cold water or 50g of ice cubes to a food processor and pulse into a pesto.
- For the tahini dressing, mix all of the ingredients together with 2 tbsp of cold water and 1/4 tsp salt. Keep adding water until you have a consistency that you can drizzle.
- Remove the shallot/onion, kale stalks, lemon peel and garlic, then drain the beans into a sieve, but keep the cooking liquor. Tip the beans into a bowl along with a generous splash of the cooking liquor (around 100 ml). Pour in the herb dressing and toss together, taking care not to break up the beans.
- Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the kale leaves along with a pinch of salt and fry until lightly charred. Add them to the beans and toss together. Spread the beans onto a plate and drizzle over the tahini sauce as well as the chilli powder.
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