Ingredients
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1 cup (190 g) dried Lima Beans
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1 clove Garlic
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3 Bay leaves
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6 Black Peppercorns
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½ cup (125 ml) extra virgin Olive Oil
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12 pencil Leeks
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1 tablespoon Verjuice
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1 Lemon Zest
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20 g Unsalted Butter
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400 g button Mushrooms
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1 teaspoon Sea Salt
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½ teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
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60 g Kalamata Olives
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½ cup Oregano
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½ cup (100 g) Ricotta
Directions
Also known as lima beans, butter beans are fantastic eating but it’s difficult to predict the cooking time of dried beans as it depends how old they are. Unfortunately you can’t glean this information from the packet. There are times when I’m tempted to use tinned butter beans as long as they don’t have preservatives added and you rinse them well before using them. Of course tinned beans are already cooked so they will only need to be warmed through. The combination of leeks and mushrooms could be spooned over a bowl of pasta and make a delightful meal, but there is something special about a plump butter bean so they are definitely worth the trouble.
Steps
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1
Done
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Drain the soaked butter beans, then place in a heavy-based saucepan with the garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and 1 litre water. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to as low as possible and cook for 1 hour or until tender. During cooking, skim off any impurities that come to the surface. Once cooked, drain and while the beans are still warm, pop them out of their skins into a bowl. Drizzle with a little of the olive oil and set aside. |
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2
Done
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Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the leeks (if using pencil leeks, leave them whole; if using larger leeks, cut them in half crossways to fit in the pan but note they will need a slightly longer cooking time). Cook for 5 minutes, then add the verjuice and reduce the temperature to very low. Cover and cook for 8 minutes or until tender. Add the lemon zest at the last moment. If you used large leeks, cut them into 2.5 cm lengths. |
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3
Done
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Melt the butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and salt and cook for 3–4 minutes or until tender. When almost cooked, add the pepper and toss to combine well. Remove from the heat. |
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4
Done
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Once all the components are cooked, place the beans, leeks, mushrooms, olives and oregano in a bowl and gently toss to combine. |
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5
Done
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Divide among 4 shallow bowls, then finish each plate with a grinding of pepper and a drizzle of lemon juice. Scatter with dollops of ricotta or curd, then drizzle with a final flourish of olive oil. |
