Beans & Polenta

If you are as much as a bean fanatic as us, you’ll want to make this polenta with borlotti beans in tomato sauce from Steve Sando’s The Bean Book.

Prep time:
Cooking time:
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

Beans
60ml olive oil
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
500ml tinned chopped tomatoes
1tbsp red wine vinegar
2tbsp tomato paste
250ml chicken (or veg) stock
4 sage leaves
700g tinned borlotti beans
75g diced pancetta

Polenta
250g polenta
2tbsp unsalted butter
A heap of parmesan
A handful of basil leaves

1. Bean there done bean

In a large saucepan heat 60ml olive oil. Whilst it heats up, finely chop your onion and mince or crush your garlic. Add the onion and garlic to the saucepan and cook for 3 minutes or until it begins to soften.

Add in 500ml tinned chopped tomatoes and 1tbsp red wine vinegar.

In a small bowl dissolve 2tbsp tomato paste in 250ml chicken stock and add to the pan.

Add 4 sage leaves (yes, the wisest and sagest you can find) and season with salt and pepper. Simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce has thickened: 15-20 minutes.

Drain 700g borlotti beans (for me borlotti beans are a Mandela effect, I’m sure they used to be called berlotti beans? But google only turns up bertlotti beans – and I don’t know who that is) and add to the sauce, cook for 15 minutes further.

2. Potential for Polenta

In a saucepan combine 250g polenta with 820ml water. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 5-8 minutes, until it has thickened. (If you are not using the quick-cook kind of polenta, place a lid on at this point and cook for another 30 minutes on the lowest hob setting). But we are time economists so, whisk in a big pile of grated parmesan, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper and hey polento! It’s done.

3. Panc(etta) me I’m dreaming

This is an optional extra, but if you are in the mood for some crispy meaty goodness then: heat a small frying pan on high heat with a dash of olive oil and add 75g diced pancetta, cook stirring frequently until crispy – 7-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to drain and move to a paper towel.

4. Beanorama

Use a serving spoon to plomp some polenta onto a bowl and top with a helping of beans and a sprinkling of pancetta. Grate over some parmesan and rip some basil over the top to finish.

Dink and beany sink!

Food for Thought