Bean Puttanesca | Bold Beans

This is a weeknight staple, whipped up in ten minutes and can travel easily into work the next day for a delicious lunch that will really hit the spot.

Serves 2 

Cooking time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS 

• 2–3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to serve
• 6 anchovy fillets 
• smoked streaky bacon or 60g diced pancetta. If using pork, make sure to fry it off until beginning to crisp before adding your onion)
• 1 large red onion, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 50g capers
• 1 red chilli, deseeded, or 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 70g pitted Kalamata olives, half left whole, half chopped in half
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• ½ teaspoon white caster sugar or honey (to balance the acidity)
• 700g jar Queen Butter Beans 
• large bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 30g/), chopped

METHOD

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium–high heat. Add the anchovy fillets, whole, and let them cook off and reduce or about 2 minutes. Once they have cooked down and shrunk slightly, add the onion. You may need to add another tablespoon of olive oil at this point to ensure the onion gets well coated. Continue to stir until the onion has caramelised and is becoming translucent. Add the garlic, capers, chilli and olives and continue to stir for 2 minutes.
2. Next, add the can of chopped tomatoes and the sugar or honey. Stir and simmer, still over a medium–high heat, for 3–5 minutes. Next, add the beans to the pan, along with their bean stock. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
3. Serve with chopped parsley and a generous glug of olive oil.

Book credit: Bold Beans by Amelia Christie-Miller. Published by Kyle Books. Photography: Joe Woodhouse