Bean And Olive Puree Recipes

GRILLED TUNA WITH WHITE BEAN PUREE, OLIVE TAPENADE AND ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lay out cherry vine tomatoes in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle with orange chili oil and roast in the oven for 8 to10 minutes until tomatoes are slightly burst and have given off their juices. Set aside.
• Add tapenade ingredients to a food processor and process to a coarse puree. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and set aside.
• In a saucepan add a 2 count of extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovies and sweat for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the beans followed by the warm chicken stock and cook until heated through. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree with a splash of white vinegar, salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Thin with extra stock if the puree is too thick. Give it a final taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Now prepare the tuna. Heat a large cast iron griddle pan over high heat. Drizzle the tuna with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the hot grill for about 45 seconds and then turn over and do the same. The tuna should be rare on the inside and have nice grill marks on the outside.
• To serve, smear a spoonful of the white bean puree on the bottom of a plate. Top with a the tuna and a spoonful of tapenade over the top. Set a cluster of the roasted tomatoes over the top and drizzle the juices from the pan all around the plate. Garnish with fresh arugula leaves.
• Make the chili oil by adding the thyme, rosemary, chili flakes and orange peel to the oil. Put aside and let it sit for at least 1 hour to let the flavors infuse.

PUREED WHITE BEANS WITH ROAST GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut off the top of the head of the garlic and pull away any loose papery skin. Put the garlic on a piece of foil and sprinkle it with two tablespoons olive oil and wrap it up. Bake it for one hour, or until the cloves are tender.
• Meanwhile, simmer the beans in water to cover for about one hour, or until they are tender. Halfway through cooking time, season them with salt and pepper.
• Put the beans in a food processor. Squeeze six cloves of garlic out of their skins and add them, along with the olive oil (reserve the rest of the garlic for using in salad dressings or on vegetables like baked tomatoes). Process the beans until they are smooth, adding more oil if needed. Correct seasoning and add more garlic if it seems needed. Stir in the thyme leaves and serve in a bowl garnished with sprigs of thyme.

WHITE BEAN AND OLIVE DIP

Steps:

• Toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat, shaking skillet once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Let cool, and chop coarsely. Toast cumin seeds in the same skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Pulse beans, lemon juice, mayonnaise, cayenne, and cumin in a food processor until combined. With the machine running, add oil in a slow stream, processing until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in pine nuts and olives, and season with salt. Serve with crackers and carrot sticks.

WHITE BEAN PUREE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, sweat the garlic in chicken stock. Add the beans and cook until heated through.
• Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree with the remaining ingredients, except hot pepper sauce. Adjust seasoning, and add hot sauce, to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.

FAVA BEAN PURéE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil as you shell the beans from: 4 pounds fava beans.
• Blanch quickly in the boiling water and then cool in ice water. Drain and pop the beans out of their skins. Heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan: 1/2 cup olive oil.
• Add the fava beans with: 4 garlic cloves, sliced, 1 branch rosemary, Salt, 1/2 cup water.
• Cook until the fava beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, and adding more water as necessary. The beans are done when they can be crushed easily with the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Mash with a spoon or pass them through a food mill. Stir in: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
• Taste and season with salt as needed. Thin with water if necessary. Serve right away or at room temperature.

FAVA BEAN PURéE WITH OIL-CURED OLIVES, FRENCH FETA, AND GARLIC TOASTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Cut the baguette on the diagonal into twelve 1/4-inch-thick slices. (You may have leftover bread.) Brush both sides of each slice generously with olive oil (about 1/4 cup in all). Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and crispy but still tender in the center. While the toasts are warm, rub them with one of the garlic cloves.
• Mince the remaining garlic clove.
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, remove the beans from their pods.
• Blanch the beans for about 2 minutes in the boiling water. Drain the beans in a colander, cool them in the ice water, and then slip them out of their pale green shells with your fingers.
• Heat a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil, the rosemary sprig, and the chile. Let them sizzle in the oil a minute or two, then stir in the minced garlic. Let it sizzle for a minute and stir in the fava beans, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. Simmer the beans 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they're tender (the exact time will depend on the starchiness of the favas). Strain the beans, reserving the oil. Discard the rosemary and chile.
• Transfer the beans into a food processor and purée them. With the motor running, pour in half the reserved oil slowly, until the purée is velvety smooth. Once the purée is smooth, pour in more of the reserved olive oil to taste. Squeeze in some lemon juice, and taste for seasoning. (The amount of oil you will need depends on the starchiness of the beans.)
• In a small bowl, toss the olives and parsley with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Crumble in the feta, tossing gently to combine.
• Spoon the warm fava bean purée onto a platter. Place the grilled toasts off to one side, and scatter the feta-olive salad over the purée.