10 bean & chestnut stew

Ingredients 500g beans (I used black eyed beans, black turtle beans, butter beans, haricot beans, lima beans, pinto beans, red kidney beans, rose cocoa beans, alubia beans & mung beans), 415g chestnut puree, 200ml vegetable stock, pumpkin oil, white onion, garlic, olive oil.

Serves: 5 Preparation: 3 hours (plus 12 hours soaking)

If you are a vegan or a vegetarian, creating a hearty stew that can rival one containing meat is not an easy task. Nothing good ever came easy though, and hoo boy this stew is good. The richness of the chestnut forms a great thick gravy, and the pumpkin oil and garlic packs this with flavour, Plus... the protein from the beans will rival any cut of meat. This is comfort food at its best and super low maintenance to make.

1) Soak the beans overnight, ensuring that they are well covered in water otherwise as they rehydrate there won't be any liquid left to soak them in!

2) Peel and dice the onion and sautee in a glug of olive oil until the onions are soft. Drain any liquid left from the beans and add the beans to the onions, along with the vegetable stock.

3) Put a bulb of garlic in the oven, whole, and roast for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Squeeze out the pureed garlic from the skin and add to the beans and onions along with a can of chestnut puree.

4) Allow to simmer for 2 1/2 hours, stirring frequently until the beans are cooked. Season to taste and serve with a drizzle of pumpkin oil. 

Greek bean salad

Ingredients Green beans, butterbeans, feta, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, mint, cucumber, green olives, chives.

Preparation: 10 minutes

La OK, I'll admit it, I have been OBSESSED with Greek food for the last few months. I can't help it - beautiful flavours, minimal ingredients and you have a simple, quick meal that is more often than not healthy too. This scrumptious bean salad has soft butterbeans, salty feta and olives, the fresh crunch of green beans and a luscious slither of minty Greek yoghurt tying it all together.

1) Top and tail the green beans and simmer in hot salted water with the butterbeans for 5 minutes. Strain in a colander and run under cold water to bring them down to room temperature.

2) Dice the feta and olives and stir into the beans.

3) Finely chop the mint, chives and cucumber, then stir into the yoghurt and toss with the other ingredients and serve.

Greek baked beans

Ingredients 1 can butterbeans or cannellini beans, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes, 50g passata tomatoes, coriander

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

Last year I worked on a number of Greek inspired recipes, and since creating this, I have eaten it four or five times in the last month - that's how much I LOVE this dish. Butterbeans have long been a favourite of mine for their delicate flavour and yielding texture and they are a fantastic base for this tangy, comforting tomato sauce. Served hot, dolloped with Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt,  they make a fabulous side dish.

1) Drain the can of beans and rinse away the brine. Bring to the boil in a pan of hot water, then strain in a colander and set aside.

2) Stir the paprika, chilli flakes and coriander into the passata and then stir in the beans.

3) Transfer to an ovenproof dish and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

To make more of a meal of this, try adding some finely diced, sauteed onions to the sauce and topping with slices of tomato before baking.

Butterbean croquettes

Ingredients 400g butterbeans, 1 tbsp Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, 1 leek, butter, parsley, 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp mustard, old bread, 1 egg

Serves: 6 preparation: 45 minutes

Greek cuisine is magnificent. I love the combination of fresh herbs and citrus flavours with savoury ingredients. These croquettes are so simple but they're packed with flavour and the beans make a nice change from potato.

1) Simmer the butterbeans in hot, salted water for 5 minutes, then strain in a colander.

2) Pulse in a blender and then parse through a sieve, leaving the shell behind and a thick almost pate like consistency in the bowl below.

3) Chop the leek and sautee in a little butter until completely soft. Stir into the bean paste along with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, freshly chopped parsley and a little mustard and Greek yoghurt.

4) Roll the mixture into croquettes. At this stage, if you're preparing ahead you can refrigerate them until you're ready to cook.

5) Whisk an egg into a dish and pulse some stale bread in the blender to form breadcrumbs. Dip the croquette in the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs until thoroughly coated.

6) The traditional Greek method of cooking is to fry them until the breadcrumbs crumbs are crispy. Personally I find baking them in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees to be more than satisfactory and certainly more healthy!

Butterbean & feta salad

Ingredients 1/4 Cucumber, 1 tin butterbeans, 100g feta, mint leaves, butter, 1/2 lime.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

I'm back! After almost a month off due to wedding/honeymoon madness I have woefully neglected you all. Hopefully this lunch idea will get me back in your good graces... the combination of lime and mint is always a winner with me - whether a cocktail, a pudding or a salad dressing, it never fails to add a fresh, exciting twist to a dish. This butterbean and feta salad is a great combination of melting soft cheese and beans with crunchy cucumber - great in a wrap, on bread or just on its own.

1) Drain the can of butterbeans and rinse in cold water. Bring to the boil in a pan for 4 minutes, then drain and set aside.

2) Slice and quarter the cucumber and cut the feta into equal chunks.

3) Zest the lime and squeeze the juice from one half. Finely chop the mint leaves and stir into the lime juice and zest.

4) Melt a knob of butter in a pan and add in the beans. Sizzle for a 30 seconds before adding the lime and mint, then fry off for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

5) Take off the heat and stir through the feta and cucumber to dress it before serving.

Spinach, butterbean & feta stir fry

Ingredients     1 tin butterbeans, feta, 200g      spinach, leek, butter, basil, basil oil, lemon, garlic, pine nuts, parmigiano.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 1


I have always loved butterbeans but I realised recently that I only use them in soup. This recipe was my attempt to branch out... and use up some leftover pesto and it turned out to be a fantastic side dish. This works hot or cold, so give it a try.


1) To make the pesto - add a good handful of fresh basil leaves to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. Sautee 1 crushed clove of garlic in basil oil and add to the mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and a handful of pine nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice, basil oil and parmeggian to taste.


2) Finely dice about an inch of leek and sautee in a teaspoon of butter.


3) Boil the beans for 5 minutes in salted water and strain. Add to the pan of leek and stir through.


4) Allow the beans to sizzle in the butter for about a minute, then add the spinach and stir through.


5) Once the spinach has wilted, stir through the pesto and remove from the heat. Add the feta and serve.

Pork & butterbean soup

Ingredients Pork crackling, roast pork, butterbeans, dill, bay leaves, milk, onion powder, honey.

I made a fabulous honey roast pork with crackling for dinner today and rather than waste the last slice of pork and the caramelised crackling I made a soup from it.

1) Cut the pork into chunks and put that, along with the crackling into a pan. Add 2 bay leaves, half a teaspoon of onion powder and some milk.

2) Add half a pint of water and simmer for half an hour. Add the beans and some chopped dill, season with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of honey and simmer for a further 15 minutes.