Beans & Greens Stew

29/08/2012 13:19

A hearty bean and vegetable stew thats packed full of goodness

Serves 4
250g dried Haricot or Cannellini beans
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 stick celery, thinly sliced
2 Onions, finely chopped
4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Carrots, halved & thinly sliced
Couple of bay leaves
1/4tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp marjoram
1.2 litres water
125g  leafy greens - Chard, mustard, spinach, and Kale.
Salt & pepper


Cover the beans with cold water and leave to soak for 6 hours or overnight.
Drain the beans and put into a saucepan, add just enough cold to cover by 2 inches. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook, covered, for 3-4 mins, stirring occasionally, until the onions are just soft. Add the garlic, celery and the carrots and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the water, drained beans, thyme, marjoram & bay leaves. When the mixture starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for around 1 1/4 hours until the beans are tender.

Allow the stew to cool slightly before transfering about 16 floz to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and recombine with the stew.

Cut the greens into thin ribbons, keeping the more tender leaves like spinach separate. Add the thicker leaves to the stew and cook gently uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in any remaining greens and continue to cook for further 5 minutes until all the greens are tender. Season to taste and ladle into warmed bowls.