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Asian Dairy-Free Gluten Free Healthy Eating Middle Eastern Recipes Vegan Vegetarian

Butterbean Hummus with Smoked Paprika Oil

Hummus, a dip usually made with chickpeas, is by far my favourite dip. When made correctly, it has such a full and punchy flavour worthy of even the fattest cat’s mezze. As we all know, chickpeas make a truly wonderful hummus. However, with variety being the spice of life, there isn’t any harm in substituting them for a slightly different ingredient. Straying beyond the realm of the humble pulse would prove a little foolish in this case, so there we shall remain. Indeed, butterbeans make a pretty favourable choice, since they possess a particularly smooth and creamy texture. As such, this take on the Middle Eastern classic is equally, if not more, palatable than its esteemed counterpart. The use of paprika to make infused oil may appear a little frivolous on the surface, but it is an integral part to this dish. Not only does it give the hummus a rather delectable streak of colour, it also completes its flavour profile with a smoky sweetness. As for the lack of tahini, this dip really doesn’t need it.

Categories
European French Healthy Eating Recipes Vegetarian

Butterbean and Leek Gratin

Since we started using dried pulses for cooking the tins of butterbeans and chickpeas that are stockpiled in our cupboards have been all but forgotten about. However, leaving them go to waste clearly is not an option, so I shall be trying my hardest over the next few weeks to make use of them. This is my own recipe, though it should be mentioned that the café at which I work has served up butterbean gratin on a number of occasions. Despite the fact that this wasn’t a tried and tested recipe it was absolutely delicious. The tomato sauce was deep and rich in flavour, the butterbeans were tender and the breadcrumbs were browned to perfection. If you are in search of a delicious, light and healthy meal, look no further.

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Healthy Eating Recipes Vegetarian

Somerset Stew with Mashed Potato

I’m determined to get right back into blogging following the last 3 weeks of busyness. All the travelling about I’ve been doing has put a downer on things blog wise. However, now I’m back and settled – for the time being – in Aberystwyth I shall attempt to blog far more regularly. I make it sound like a chore – it really isn’t!

Today I went in search of food related inspiration which came in the form of my grandmother’s vast collection of BBC GoodFood magazines. I plucked this delectable recipe from the folds of one particularly useful copy, and suited it to my own uses. This was necessary because flageolet beans appear to be absolutely impossible to find, especially in west Wales. However, I must recommend this dish, as it is absolutely beautiful. It manages to be both hearty and not too wintery at the same time, which means it’s a perfect soup for this time of year. This is perhaps because it doesn’t contain any meat and therefore lacks the richness of a beefy broth.

Categories
Healthy Eating Italian Recipes Vegetarian

Butterbean Broth

 

Butterbean BrothAt the beginning of the university term I decided I wanted to continue eating a wider range of foods. So I picked up tins of a number of different pulses, which come in at a wonderful 30p each and serve two, and thought I’d sort of “invent” a variety of dishes as I went along. Two of these tins contained butter beans, the first of which I used to make butterbean patties, but I really wanted to conserve the shape and textures of the butterbeans, so with some help from BBC Goodfood – which by-the-way is fantastic – this butterbean broth was born.