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Posts Tagged ‘borlotti beans’

Borlotti bean and cabbage soup–in three simple stages

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , on January 20, 2015| 5 Comments »

A soup for cold January evenings.

Borlotti beans are the speckly ones–mottled white and red uncooked.

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Cooking changes them to brown, which is a little disappointing.

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They have a nutty flavor that distinguishes them from cannellini beans–and lends an air of gravity to this winter vegetable soup that white beans can’t quite achieve.

You can substitute white for borlotti, of course.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 carrot–diced small

1 onion–diced small

1 celery stick–diced small

1 garlic clove–chopped

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1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

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600 mil  vegetable stock (I use organic stock cubes)

400 gms tinned (canned) tomatoes–drained and chopped

400 gms tinned (canned–or in a jar) borlotti beans–drained

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salt and pepper

125 gms thinly sliced cabbage–I use savoy cabbage

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parmesan cheese (grated for garnish)

There are three simple stages:

1) Heat the oil in a pan and gently soften the carrot, onion, celery, garlic and fresh thyme (if you have it).

2) Mix in the broken-up tomatoes, the beans and the stock and season well–salt (to taste) and plenty of fresh ground pepper.

Bring these up to the simmer and cook on with the pan partially covered for 15 minutes.

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3) Stir in the cabbage and cook until tender.

Serve hot with grated parmesan and a swirl of olive oil.

Tastes even better the day after…

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Lunch: 9th December 2011

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , on December 9, 2011| 2 Comments »

Lamb chops, borlotti beans and broccoli.

We eat relatively little red meat.

Meredith bought these lamb chops on Tuesday from Monsieur Fraisse, the butcher in Lautrec. “They looked particularly nice….”

The beans are from Italy, bought in jars. They grow in beautiful red spotted pods–the beans turn brown when cooked.

The broccoli I bought from the organic market in Castres, yesterday afternoon.

For 2

4 lean lamb chops

3/4 sprigs of rosemary–needles removed

2 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons olive oil–a little more if you need it

salt

—————-

1 tin/jar of beans–drained but the liquid retained (of course these can be white or borlotti)

sprig of sage

a clove of garlic–chopped

1/2 an organic vegetable stock cube

the other 1/2 an organic vegetable stock cube dissolved in 250 ml/1/2 pint of hot water–(use this instead of or in addition to the liquid from the beans)

———–

1/2 lb/ 250 gms  broccoli–washed, stems shortened and cut into eatable florets

salt and pepper

olive oil

  • An hour or two before you eat  “pestle” the rosemary needles up  (i.e. smash up!) with the garlic and a pinch of salt in a mortar and add the oil–this is the marinade for the chops.
  • Pour this fragrant mix over the chops in a bowl and turn everything to coat the chops with the marinade.
  • leave initially in the fridge–covered; then take them out an hour before cooking them.
  • Heat a grill to medium.
  • Season the chops and put them on the grill.
  • Timing depends on your taste and their thickness–3 to 4 minutes a side and they’ll retain some pinkness.
  • While they cook gently sauté the garlic and sage in the olive oil in a small pan until the garlic begins to colour.
  • Add the half stock cube (give it a stir to dissolve in the oil).
  • Add the beans.
  • Stir the mix and add a little of the bean liquid or the stock.
  • Cover and cook on for 5 minutes or so.
  •  In another pan, steam the broccoli covered until tender but not overcooked.
  • Serve with olive oil and salt on the table.

Interested customers watching M. Fraisse working on lamb chops

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