Smoked butter beans with hake recipe
This nutritious, flavoursome dish is perfect in warm or cold weather
We all need to eat more beans, said Charlie Bigham: they are nutritious and delicious. For this fish recipe, I have used a jar of butter beans, but of course you can prepare dried beans ahead of time if you prefer. Serve with crusty bread and a lightly dressed salad if the weather is warm, or freshly cooked greens if it’s cold.
Ingredients:
- For the beans:
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large onions, sliced
- 2 celery sticks, finely sliced
- 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 400g can of chopped tomatoes
- 200g tomato passata
- 700g jar of large or queen butter beans (Bold Bean Co's are particularly good)
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
- For the hake:
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- 4 x 150-200g hake fillets, or other white fish fillets
- juice of ½ a lemon
- flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- crusty bread, to serve
Method:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- Start by making the beans. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large shallow casserole, sauté pan or deep frying pan with a lid and fry the onions and celery gently for 10 minutes, or until softened and beginning to brown, stirring regularly. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring frequently.
- Pour the rest of the oil into the pan and add the paprika. Cook for a minute, stirring constantly.
- Next, add the tomatoes, passata and the beans, with all their liquid. Season with lots of pepper; you shouldn’t need extra salt as the beany liquid will already be fairly salty. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Meanwhile, place a frying pan over a medium- high heat, add the 1½ tbsp of oil and then the fish, skin-side down. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Carefully flip the fish over, add a dash more oil and cook for a further 4 minutes, or until pale golden and almost cooked through.
- Lift the fish gently onto the cooked beans, cover the pan with a lid and simmer gently for a further 4-5 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked: it should be firm but ready to flake into large pieces if prodded.
- Take off the heat, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and the lemon juice, and scatter lots of chopped parsley on top. Serve with crusty bread.
Taken from "Supper With Charlie Bigham: Favourite Food for Family & Friends", published by Octopus at £26. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 category 5 cartoons about hurricane Helene
Artists take on precarious conditions, planning ahead, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Wolfs: 'comedy thriller' stumbles despite George Clooney and Brad Pitt
While the crime caper might 'pleasingly pass a Saturday night' its star-studded duo cannot ultimately salvage it
By The Week UK Published
-
The death of Hassan Nasrallah
In the Spotlight The killing of Hezbollah's leader is 'seismic event' in the conflict igniting in the Middle East
By The Week UK Published
-
Wolfs: 'comedy thriller' stumbles despite George Clooney and Brad Pitt
While the crime caper might 'pleasingly pass a Saturday night' its star-studded duo cannot ultimately salvage it
By The Week UK Published
-
Unleashed: Big Dog Boris Johnson fights back
Talking Point New memoir is packed with 'derring-do, jolly japes' and 'alluring alliteration'
By The Week UK Published
-
Silk Roads at The British Museum: a 'mesmerising' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Epic' show explores the many routes connecting East and West, through a collection of 'beautiful, unusual, intricate' treasures
By The Week UK Published
-
Sarah Moss picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The author shares works by Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Wordsworth and Ross Gay
By The Week UK Published
-
TV to watch in October, from 'Disclaimer' and 'The Franchise'
The Week Recommends An HBO comedy from the 'Veep' creator, a mystery from master filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón and a reboot of an '80s classic
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Giant: 'stylishly crafted' Roald Dahl play is 'spectacularly good'
The Week Recommends Mark Rosenblatt's 'fearless' debut examines the character of the controversial children's author
By The Week UK Published
-
The Cabinet Minister: 'sparkling' comedy with a 'satirical sting'
The Week Recommends Nancy Carroll's revival of Arthur Wing Pinero's classic farce is a 'life-affirming triumph'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Movies to watch in October, from 'Joker: Folie à Deux' to 'Saturday Night'
The Week Recommends Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, a new Jason Reitman comedy and a buzzy Palme d'Or winner
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published