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BLISTERED TOMATO BROTHY BEANS

I seem to have gone through a period of putting beans into absolutely everything. I’m a little more restrained these days, but a bowl of hot, brothy beans with bread still gets me every time.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients

  • olive oil
  • 400 g cherry tomatoes
  • 4 fat garlic cloves thinly sliced
  • 700 g jar cannellini beans
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • to serve: your best extra virgin olive oil, crème fraîche, fresh basil, crusty baguette

Instructions

  1. Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt and let them sit for 10-12 minutes, shaking the pan every 2-3 minutes, until they are blistered and bursting. Add the garlic and stir it through the tomatoes for a further minute or so, to let it soften.

  2. Add the cannellini beans, with their stock, 400ml water, the bay leaf and a pinch of salt and black pepper to the pan. Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are ultra tender. I like to squash the tomatoes down a little bit here, too. Remove the bay leaf, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
  3. Serve the beans up between bowls and finish with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a spoonful of creme fraiche, a nice handful of basil leaves, and a good grind of black pepper. Eat with a crusty baguette.

Recipe Notes

A note on bean stock: you need to taste the stock of your beans. Some are salty and some are completely flavourless. If yours is flavourless you will need to be really generous with the salt, and vice versa.