Cannellini Bean Medley

Not sure how to describe this dish, is it a salad? A fantastic side? A main? Anyway its blooming delicious, colourful and super easy to make. The only thing you need to remember is to soak your beans the night before. Once these beans are cooked the world is your oyster as cannelini beans are so versatile.

Blend cannellini beans to make the smoothest hummus, add to soups or stews. You could use cans here but I feel the texture tend to be a bit mushy.

Great side to grilled halloumi, feta makes a great addition, amazing on toasted ciabatta with some extra greens and I lovely with your morning eggs.

You can use any hard veggies here, just keep the ratio equal, i.e 1 cup of each.

To cook the beans:

2 cups cannelini beans soaked overnight
1 bay leaf
handful parsley stalks (keep the leaves for the salad)
few peppercorns
one bashed garlic clove
1/2 onion

Bean Medley:

3 cups cooked cannelini beans
2 celery sticks, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 onions, finely diced
1 cup greens, finely chopped (any)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup parsley chopped (any soft herb)
1 chilli (opt) sliced
1 lemon (zest & juice)
A very good Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

1. To cook the beans, fill a large saucepan with water, add the soaked beans and the ingredients, simmer slowly until the beans are al dente. It will always take longer than you think! You can use any hard veggies here, just keep the ratio equal, i.e 1 cup of each.
2. Add a good glug of olive oil to a saucepan on a med heat, once oil is warm, add the celery, carrots & onions and sautée with a lid on for at least 25min. This is called a ‘soffritto’ in Italian and one of the first cooking skills that I teach my chefs. Take your time here, the better the base the better the dish.
3. Once the soffritto is soft, add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, add the greens, stir and put the lid on, let the greens soften gently in the pot for about 5min. If you want a warm dish, add the cannelini beans now and stir till heated through.
4. Remove from the heat and season to perfection with lemon juice, zest, chilli’s, olive oil, salt and pepper. Finally sprinkle parsley over final dish.