Simple Braised Cannellini Beans with Preserved Lemon

How are you all doing this week? We are fine and well on our side and hope you are too. This week, I would like to share a simple and versatile recipe with you – Simple Braised Cannellini Beans with Preserved Lemon. It is piquant, smoky, velvety and absolutely addictive! I have been making this weekly and we haven’t got tired of it at all, in fact, my daughter asks me regularly if we have some of these delicious ‘baked beans’ in the fridge, so she can top her toasts with it in the mornings! It really is one of the best protein rich dishes you will ever want to have regularly in your fridge. Please don’t be discouraged if you don’t have any preserved lemon, and don’t let it stop you making this, you can simply substitute it with freshly grated lemon zest, its taste won’t be as piquant, but it will still be delicious! I have written down several serving suggestions for this dish in the ‘Notes’ section below, so take your pick or create your very own ones! If you made it, please tag me on Instagram or leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!

Here let’s cheer to another healthy week, stay safe!

Notes:

1. If you can’t find Cannellini beans, any white beans will work just as well. I imagine black beans or even kidney beans would work too, or maybe even chickpeas!

2. I made my own preserved lemon, it is actually super easy to make, only 3 ingredients: Lemon, salt and olive oil (after that you will need to wait for 4 weeks before you can start eating it)! There are plenty of recipes online and they all seem to be very much the same, so if you have time, I highly recommend you make your own. It is one of the best ingredients to have in your pantry, seriously! You can add it to stew, salad dressing, use it as marinade for meat and root veggies, so so good. If you want to speed up the process, try to buy them in Middle Eastern shops, they should carry preserved lemon in jar.

3. Serving suggestions: I served these beans on toasted sourdough bread and pan-fried Halloumi cheese (for this blog post, see picture). You can also crack a few eggs on top of the beans and put it under the oven grill for a few minutes to make a Shakshuka style breakfast dish; serve it with pasta, creamy polenta or rice as a simple lunch with a green salad, as a side to grilled fish or steak for dinner (I once served it with cauliflower steak, so good!). I have to say, the list can go on and on… It is definitely one of the most versatile dishes you can make, cook a big batch for the week for convenience, it keeps well in the fridge and in fact, it tastes even better the day after!

Ingredients:

serves 4

• 1 can (400g) white beans (I use Cannellini), drained
• 1 can (400g) whole tomatoes (or chopped)
• 1 small red onion (or yellow onion, or shallot), finely chopped
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. dried onion
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 175ml water
• a few shakes Worcester sauce
• 1 tsp. tomato puree
• 1 pinch of coconut sugar (or regular brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp. preserved lemon (or freshly grated zest of 1 lemon), finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron or non-stick pan, add chopped onions and a pinch of salt, sauté about a minute. Add smoked paprika, dried onion and garlic powder to the onions and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes or until onions are soft and turned translucent. Add the can tomato and use the spatula to break down the tomato. Add tomato paste, thyme, water, the Worcester sauce and preserved lemon (or lemon zest). Bring everything to a boil and turn down the heat to medium low and let it simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Have a taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Add the can of Cannellini beans and mix well. Simmer the beans uncovered for another 10 minutes. The sauce will become silky and rich. Add a couple of turns of black pepper and have a final taste. If you use lemon zest, add a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving to give a tangy touch to the final dish.

Serve immediately.