Creamy Butter Beans With Crispy Crumbs Recipes

CREAMY BUTTER BEANS

Steps:

• Rinse and sort the beans, getting rid of any broken pieces. Place in a stockpot or Dutch oven and cover with 1-inch of water. Bring to a boil. Place lid on pot and remove from heat. Let sit 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot or Dutch oven, heat bacon fat over medium heat.
• Add onion, celery, and carrots and saute until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add ham, ham hocks, chicken broth, water, bay leaves, garlic powder, thyme, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour.
• Once beans have been sitting for an hour, drain them.
• Add beans, butter, and Cajun or Creole seasoning to the chicken broth mixture after it has simmered for 1 hour. Continue to simmer for 60 to 90 minutes. If liquid level gets too low (ie not all the beans are submerged), add more water.
• Remove ham hocks. Let cool slightly and then remove any meat from the bone, chop it up and return it to the pot.
• Serve as is for a side dish or serve over rice with a side of cornbread for a main dish.

PAN-FRIED BUTTER BEANS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook and stir beans into hot oil until slightly golden and crispy, about 10 minutes. Stir garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper into beans; continue cooking until crispy, about 5 minutes. Drizzle vinegar over beans and toss.

BAKED MUSHROOMS AND WHITE BEANS WITH BUTTERY BREAD CRUMBS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the mushrooms: In a large (12-inch) ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown and crisp around the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the butter, shallot, garlic and thyme, and stir until the shallot has softened slightly and the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt.
• Turn off the heat and stir the white beans into the skillet. Toss until combined, then top evenly with feta. Add the stock and bake until the stock is slightly bubbling and the feta has slightly softened, 13 to 15 minutes.
• While the beans bake, make your bread crumbs: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Turn off the heat, add the crumbs and toss until evenly covered with butter. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the mushroom mixture from the oven and turn on the broil setting. Top the mushrooms and beans with the bread crumbs, then broil until the bread crumbs are golden and the feta is crisp on the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. (Don't walk away!) Scatter with parsley and serve directly from the pan.

CREAMY PARSNIP, LEEK, AND WHITE BEAN CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Toss the leeks and chopped parsnips with the olive oil in an 8-inch x 6-inch casserole or roasting pan (or a similar-sized round one). Sprinkle over half the thyme leaves and season well. Roast for 35 minutes or until the leeks are soft and buttery, and the parsnips are soft all the way through.
• Meanwhile, mix all but ½ cup/50 g of the grated parsnips in a bowl with the crème fraîche, chopped garlic, lemon zest, cider vinegar, stock and navy beans. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
• In a separate bowl, make the crumble topping. Using your fingertips, rub the oats, butter or olive oil, flour and pumpkin seeds together with the remaining grated parsnip and thyme leaves so that it starts to clump and looks like chunky breadcrumbs. Chill in the fridge until needed.
• Once the leeks and parsnips have softened, remove from the oven, toss through the bean and crème fraîche mixture, then tip back into the pan.
• Remove the crumble topping from the fridge, sprinkle it over the filling, sprinkle over the cheese and return to the oven for 30 minutes. Serve with warm, crusty bread and lemon-dressed salad or greens. Make Ahead: You can put the crumble together, cover and chill in the fridge up to 24 hours before you bake it.