Greens and beans

So easy. So, so good.

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Beans’n’greens and assorted toppings

Hello wonderful subscribers, it’s only me, popping into your inbox again, this time with an exceptionally easy and delicious recipe for beans and greens to perk up your week, because I’m nice like that. It’s a dish I turn to time and time again, because more often than not, there’s a jar of main meal-worthy beans in my pantry, and some kind of greens and or herbs hanging around in the fridge. It’s frugal, fresh and filling - I’d go as far as to say it makes me feel good when I eat it, and we all need a bit of that sometimes.

Wild beach fennel on my walk

It’s also May, which means that my daily beach walks with the dog are involving a little bit of casual foraging, as the wild fennel has exploded and - thankfully IMO - replaced the Alexanders all along the promenade, so I’m stuffing it into poo bags (in case that gives you the ick, it’s like Greg said in Succession: they don’t pre-poop them) like no one’s business. There will be wild fennel in my greens and beans, and probably in my fish, chicken eggs, pasta and salad dishes for the next couple of months, but if you can’t stand fennel, you can leave it out. I use wild fennel as a herb in this, because my oh my, it packs a punch - so replace it with whatever green herb you love. If you want to know more about the sort of magical place where beach fennel is so abundant even the local butcher puts it into her sausages, you can read all about Deal, and the best places to eat, drink and be merry here in my DEAL-ightful guide (and still be in with a chance of winning an incredible piece of original art by NED) right here.

Now for some quick housekeeping. You might sense from my tone that I’m a little bit overexcited. That’s because next week we go on away on holiday, so I’ll be pressing pause on the newsletters for 10 days while I rest, recuperate and get some delicious inspiration to bring right back to you. But for now. Beans and greens, and then some. As a heads up, this recipe also includes jarred artichokes, an ingredient I really like to have in stock for summer because they’re pretty good value and bring some heft, acidity and downright elegance to proceedings, but they aren’t essential - the greens and beans in itself is a meal, and you can add toasted pitta, focaccia, crispbread or roasted veggies to bulk it up. I hope you enjoy - I made this fun little video with the Bold Bean guys whose beans I am religious about using, and they are also offering ALOHP readers a sweet little discount of 20% for any purchases of their ‘Taste The Range’ packs. Just enter ROSIE20 at the checkout.

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Beans, greens and herbs

Serves 4

This bean dish can be served warm or at ambient temperature, and is excellent as a side to barbecued things, but also works well in its own right. I find it’s particularly forgiving for any greens or herbs that might be starting to look a bit sad - everything is wilted down with this punchy anchovy and rosemary base.

2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped

30g anchovy fillets in oil, drained and chopped

Two sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped and roughly chopped

½ tsp red chilli flakes

100g of jarred artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

100ml white wine or vermouth

150g greens (I like spinach and chard)

700g jarred cannellini beans, drained

The zest of 1 lemon

A large handful each of dill, mint, parsley, wild fennel or whatever herbs you have

To garnish, chopped green olives

A big ball of mozzarella or burrata, torn

A handful of deeply roasted almonds, roughly chopped

1. In a heavy bottomed frying pan over a low to medium heat, warm 2 tbsp olive oil along with the garlic, rosemary, anchovies and chilli flakes. Cook, stirring for a few minutes, until the flavours have infused into the oil, the anchovies have melted, but remove it from the heat before the garlic colours.

2. Slide in the chopped artichokes and stir to coat in the oil, then add in the greens and return to the heat stirring, cooking until they’ve wilted down. Tip in the beans, season everything with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper, and mix in with the wilted greens and aromatics, then pour over the wine and stir to coat. Allow to bubble and then reduce by about half, adding in a splash of water to loosen the beans if you need to. You want them slick and silky. Stir through half herbs (use the sadder ones here and save the best for garnish). Season with a little lemon juice.

3. Pile onto a platter and finish with a good grating of fresh lemon zest and the rest of the herbs. Top with the milky cheese. Drizzle with some more olive oil and serve with toasted flatbreads, focaccia or crusty bread.

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