On Thursday’s Morning Focus, ‘Taste of the Week’ returned with Paul Knapps. Paul has been a firefighter for 35 years while he also enjoys a love of cooking which has resulted in him being known as ‘The Firefighting Chef.
This week, Paul joined Alan to discuss his latest recipe for Creamy Italian White Beans.
Ingredients:
> Olive oil
> 2x medium shallot diced.
> 420 g cherry tomatoes, left whole (2 supermarket trays should do the job)
> 4-5 medium cloves garlic thinly sliced.
> ¼ tsp chili flakes (optional)
> ½ tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
> 120 ml or a good glass full of a dry white wine
> 1 tbsp sun dried tomato paste
> 2 x cans of white beans of your choice, Haricot, butter or cannellini you choose , drained and rinsed
> 250ml of plant powered cream
> 150g baby spinach
> A bunch of chopped fresh basil.
Method:
> Heat a large pan over a medium heat. Once warmed, add a good glug of olive oil and pop in your diced shallots. Sauté for 2to 3 minutes until the shallots are translucent.
> Next, we add the whole cherry tomatoes, sliced garlic, chilli (optional), and sea salt. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then add the white wine and tomato paste and increase to medium-high heat letting it bubble away and reduce. Cover the pan and let the tomatoes cook for 5-8 minutes. At this point, the skins on the tomatoes should have blistered and start to fall away and ready for squishing. Remove the lid and turn the heat back down to medium. Use the back of your spoon or spatula or even a masher to smash the tomatoes.
> Next add the drained and rinsed white beans and stir, letting them sauté (uncovered) with the tomatoes until most of the liquid has evaporated this should be about 5 minutes.
> Once the liquid has reduced from your tomatoes and beans, add your cream and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s a thick, saucy consistency.
> Turn off the heat and stir in the baby spinach and basil. Let it wilt before serving over pasta or with a side of crusty focaccia (both optional)! Garnish with an optional sprinkling of vegan parmesan and black pepper!
> And a FYI the leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month, but I doubt there won’t be any leftovers!
You can listen to the full interview below.
