Warm butter bean salad with roast peppers
Smoky roasted peppers provide a bright contrast to the delicate, buttery flavour of big lima beans in this dish. The pili pili oil adds the subtlest kick – you’ll notice it, but it doesn’t overpower. Peppery rocket adds freshness, and a squeeze of lemon brightens everything.
Prep 20 min (but make the hot chilli oil a couple of days in advance)
Soak Overnight
Cook 2 hr
Serves 4
450g dried butter beans, soaked in water and 3 tbsp salt overnight (or 3 x 400g cans of ready-to-eat butter beans)
1 bay leaf
1 large yellow onion, peeled, ½ diced, ½ left intact
5 garlic cloves, peeled, 3 cut in half, 2 minced
1 dried red chilli
Flaky sea salt and white pepper
2 large red peppers
2 large yellow peppers
2 large orange peppers
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp pili pili oil (see below and method), plus extra for drizzling
225g rocket, washed and spun dry
1 lemon, halved, to garnish
For the pili pili oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme
9 small fresh bird’s eye or Thai chillies
250ml olive oil
First, make the hot chilli oil. In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until they start to sizzle and the paprika dissolves. Remove from the heat, leave to cool, transfer to a small jar and refrigerate.
If you have soaked your own beans, drain and put them in a large saucepan and add water to cover by 5cm. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam and lower the heat to medium-low. Add the bay leaf, onion half, halved garlic and dried chilli. Partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until just tender, adding water as needed to keep the beans covered – 60-90 minutes. Add a teaspoon of salt and simmer for 10 minutes more. Drain, discard the bay leaf, onion, garlic and chilli, and set the beans aside.
Roast the peppers directly over a gas flame, turning them until the skin is blackened and blistered all over. Put in a heatproof container and cover for 15 minutes, until the skins loosen up. Peel, cut off the stem end, remove the core and seeds, and cut the flesh into strips.
In a large saucepan, warm the olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just starting to brown. Add the minced garlic and a half-teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until fragrant.
Add the beans (either cooked yourself or from tins), peppers and hot chilli oil to the pan. Raise the heat to high and cook for a minute, gently stirring to combine and warm through. Turn off the heat and season well with white pepper and salt to taste. Share between four plates.
Add the rocket and two tablespoons of water to the same pan over a low heat. Wilt the leaves and put a handful over each serving. Finish with more hot chilli oil, a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of flaky salt.
Roast courgettes with collard-peanut pesto
Prep 20 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4
For the pesto
450g loosely packed, stemmed, chopped collard leaves, or kale leaves or spinach
40g roasted peanuts
3 tbsp white miso paste
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice, plus more as needed
120ml olive oil, plus more as needed
Salt and black pepper
For the courgettes
4 medium courgettes, cut into 1-1.5cm dice
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
65g chopped roasted peanuts
First make the pesto: blend the greens, peanuts, miso and garlic in a food processor until it forms a chunky paste. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil, then season with salt pepper, and lemon juice to taste.
For the courgettes, heat the oven to its highest setting – 250C (230C fan)/450F/gas 9 – and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss the courgettes with the olive oil and salt, then spread over the baking sheet in one even layer. Roast for 18-20 minutes, until brown around the edges. Transfer to a bowl and add a few grinds of pepper.
Drop in a few heaped dollops of pesto, so that people can scoop as much as they’d like. Pile the peanuts into a small serving bowl and serve alongside the courgettes.
Dirty cauliflower with tempeh and porcini
Prep 20 min
Soak 20 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4-6
15g (about 3 tbsp) dried, sliced porcini
½ cauliflower head, leaves removed, chopped into small pieces
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
150g chestnut or button mushrooms, cut into 1.5cm-thick slices
Salt and black pepper
150g tempeh, crumbled
150g finely diced yellow onion
175g finely diced green pepper
110g finely diced celery
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp tamari
3 spring onions, green parts only, thinly sliced on an angle, for serving
2.5 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving
Put the porcini in a heatproof bowl and cover with 475ml boiling water. Use a small plate to weigh down the mushrooms, ensuring they stay submerged. Soak for 20 minutes, then drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Finely chop the porcini and set aside. Strain the soaking liquid to remove any grit.
Pulse the cauliflower into small, grain-like pieces in a food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Line a plate with kitchen paper. In a large frying pan, warm two tablespoons of the olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until brown and crisp on one side. Sprinkle with salt, then flip and cook for about three minutes more, until browned and tender. Transfer to the prepared plate.
Pour the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil into the frying pan. Add the crumbled tempeh and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, pepper, celery, cayenne and half a teaspoon of salt. Saute for five minutes, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes. Drizzle the tamari over the mixture, stir, then scrape into a medium bowl.
In the same pan, combine the chopped porcini and a cup of the reserved soaking liquid, and bring to a simmer over a high heat. Add the cauliflower, then cook, stirring frequently, until just tender – three to five minutes.
Transfer the cauliflower to the bowl with the vegetables and tempeh. Add the fried mushrooms and toss. Taste, season, transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the spring onions and parsley before serving.
These recipes are edited extracts from Bryant Terry’s Vegetable Kingdom.
