B is for Beans

Baked beans, from a tin, are one of the foods I most hate in this world. The mere mention of baked beans takes me back to the worst memories of family camping trips. I remember the good times, but somehow the bad food memories (maybe B is also for bad food memories) dominate my recollections of these trips. Baked beans, soggy breakfast cereal and tinned peas and carrots. Yuk! 

Thankfully there are many different types of beans and many ways to eat them. So beans do make it into my list of food highlights. 

For a healthy side dish try this:

For every 100 g of green beans, use 1 clove garlic, 1 tablespoon of water and a quick dash of olive oil. Toss green beans on a baking sheet with smashed garlic, water and oil. Roast at around 230 degrees C until your beans are tender and slightly charred – keep an eye on them, you don’t want them black. They’ll take about 15 – 20 minutes. Toss with a small amount of chopped tarragon (about ½ tspn), a smidgeon of whole-grain mustard (about ¼ tspn), salt and pepper. 

Another one of my favourite beans is that wonder, the soybean. Edamame can be bought frozen in lots of places now (although I haven’t found them in Prague). Serve them like they do in Wagamama. Steamed with salt. Or if you’re feeling like something a little different try steaming the beans in their pods for a couple of minutes. Lightly fry some chopped red chilli in a little sesame oil. Add the beans and stir fry them for about a minute and serve with salt. There is much joy to be had from sucking the beans out of their pods while sipping a glass of dry white wine.

Another quick healthy favourite is bean soup. Usually I use either tinned white beans or chick peas for this one. If I remember to plan ahead, I will do the beans from scratch – with all the soaking, etc. But it’s easier to grab a can of beans from the food cupboard.

First I chop up an onion or two and fry them in a small amount of vegetable oil. You want the onion soft and lightly golden, so don’t put the heat too high. Then I add some finely chopped garlic and let that soften. Toss in the drained, rinsed beans, and add some water or vegetable stock – enough to cover the beans well and a bit more. Simmer this for about 10 minutes, then puree it all using a stick blender. If it’s too thick, add some more stock. If it’s too thin, boil it on the stove until it reduces. Taste it and adjust the seasoning – I use salt and lemon juice. Serve it with a swirl of natural yoghurt, and some chopped parsley. 

And of course there’s Pasta e Fagioli – I don’t have a favourite recipe for this, but I know that the one prepared by Carluccio’s in Dubai is delicious (and probably pretty similar to that served in Carluccio’s anywhere). In many places this is a vegetarian dish, but be warned. Some chefs use pancetta and chicken stock. So if you’re eating out, check the ingredients before ordering.

A is for Apples

For me there’s no comfort food like a delicious, warming Rhubarb and Apple Crumble with lashings of thick, creamy custard. I don’t remember having many desserts when I was growing up. This list of favourites was short. There was the above-mentioned crumble, apple sponge, baked apples, canary pudding, lemon delicious and, for special occasions, pavlova. Interesting that in this short list, half of the options involved apples.

Now I’m not an apple expert. One day I may have the good fortune to live somewhere that allows me to pick and choose the perfect apple for a specific purpose from a large variety of apples. But that’s not where I am now. I’m a member of the “I know what I like school”, so if you’re looking for a learned treatise on the merits, or otherwise, of a range of apples, you won’t find it here. In our family the apple of choice was the Granny Smith, and they remain my favourite, even though there are now so many different apple varieties available. I’ve never been able to come to terms with the sweetness of the Delicious apple, and for my taste many of the other varieties are downright bland. I need the tart, tangy, intensity of a Granny Smith. So, in any apple recipes I provide, think Granny Smith. 

Rhubarb and Apple Crumble

This is a wonderfully simple dessert and always tastes great. If you like your desserts ‘not too sweet’ then use more rhubarb than apple. If sweet is your thing, use more apple. Play with the amount of sugar. I like my crumbles with the fruit tart, and a moderate amount of sweetness in the crumble. If you don’t want the crunchiness and flavour of oats, replace them with extra flour. I like the texture the oats give. 

Ingredients:

Fruit:

850 g cooking apples (peeled and cored) and rhubarb (first time round you might like to start with 2 parts apple to 1 part rhubarb)

75 g golden caster sugar

Topping:

95 g butter

120 g plain flour

30 g rolled outs

45 g sugar

1 tablespoon water

1.      Preheat your oven to 180^oC

2.      Chop fruit into fairly even sized chunks – about bite size. Put into 1.5 litre capacity ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with sugar

3.      Lightly toast the rolled oats in a pan over a moderate heat. Don’t burn them – they will make your crumble taste nasty if you do. Pale brown is good

4.      Rub butter into plain flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and the oats and mix through the flour/butter mixture

5.      Gently stir through the water. This will make some of the mixture clumpy and some of it will remain powdery. What you are aiming for is a few clumpy bits to add variety to the texture. You are not aiming for a dough where everything sticks together. If you’re at all worried, forget it. Leave out the water and just go with what you had at step 4

6.      Spread crumble mix fairly evenly over the fruit

7.      Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Your crumble should be lightly coloured

8.      Serve it with lashings of custard or whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or any combination of these that takes your fancy

Well, now on to apple sponge. I recently saw this referred to as Eve’s Pudding. Sorry, in my mind it will always be apple sponge. Delicious cooked apple chunks topped with a cake mixture, served with custard or cream. I like my apples chunky. You may prefer yours more mushy. Either way is fine. If you like them mushy cut your slices more thinly or think about cooking them a little first. If you like chunks, the cooking time for the cake should be enough to soften the apples, but not break them down too much. 

Ingredients:

6 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced

175 g unsalted butter

100 g sugar

4 eggs

200g self-raising flour

1.      Preheat your oven to 180^oC

2.      Grease an oven proof dish, about 2.5 litre capacity, with butter (not the butter listed in the ingredients – you need that for the batter)

3.      Put apples in dish – spread evenly

4.      Cream butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Sugar should have started to dissolve. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Don’t panic if the mixture curdles – it will all sort out when you add the flour

5.      Sift the flour then fold it gently into creamed butter and sugar

6.      Spread cake batter over the apples

7.      Bake for about 45 minutes until golden

8.      Serve with custard

Of course there are many more things you can do with apples. They go wonderfully with some cheeses – try it with Camembert, a vintage cheddar or a slab of Gruyère. They’re delicious baked, stuffed with a mix of dried fruit, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Sometimes I just chop one up, add some cinnamon and sultanas, a knob of butter, sprinkle with about 1 tspn of sugar and cook it in the microwave for a few minutes – this is gorgeous with some yoghurt and maybe a drizzle of honey. The Flavor Bible (Page and Dornenburg) suggest apples go well with caramel, lemon, Calvados, rum, pine nuts, cinnamon, ginger, honey and a host of other yummy flavours. I particularly like the combination of apple and anise – try adding a slurp of Sambucca to any apple dessert. It’s delicious.