For the longest time, beans have had a bad image, and their "musical" associations have held them back as more of an afterthought in dishes like stews.
Fart-inducing or not, navy beans - the ones used in baked beans - are a great, sustainable source of protein, and they have earned their time in the spotlight: Time to make them the star of the show with a fruity-fresh bean dip.
Onions and garlic sautéed in plenty of olive oil give the pureed beans a lovely flavour and wonderfully creamy texture.
The preserved lemons meanwhile add some umami notes and lose a large part of their acidity while pickled. And yet they still bring an intense lemon taste. A perfect combination! If you like, you can add a little sage to the dish for a slightly bitter flavour.
This bean cream also tastes fantastic as a pasta sauce: Simply mix with a little pasta water, stir into the pasta and serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.
Ingredients for a medium bowl:
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove garlic (small)
- 500 g navy beans, drained
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- pepper
- ¼ preserved lemon*
- 2 sage leaves (optional)
- ½ lemon (optional)
* Lemons are easy to preserve yourself, but they need about 4 weeks to develop their flavour. Wash some organic lemons thoroughly and cut lengthways into quarters (do not cut through).
Add approximately 1 tbsp of salt. Place the lemons in a sterilised preserving jar and pour in enough boiling water to cover them completely. Seal the jar and leave to infuse in a dark place at room temperature for approx. 4 weeks.
Making the dip
- Peel the onions and garlic. Cut the onion into very fine cubes, chop the garlic very finely.
- Rinse the beans thoroughly under running water. Place in a tall container with approx. 200 ml vegetable stock and blend with a hand blender until creamy.
- Heat around 4 tbsp olive oil in a pan over a low heat. Sauté the onions and garlic in it until they are soft. Add the bean cream and flavour with pepper (the salt lemons add salt to the dish). Reduce over a low heat without the lid until the desired consistency is reached.
- Cut the flesh away from the salted lemons and chop the lemon zest as finely as possible. Stir the salted lemons into the bean cream. Salty lemons have a very intense flavour. The best way to get used to the flavour is to add the salt lemons gradually and taste in between.
- Wash, dry and finely chop the sage leaves. Squeeze the lemon. Season the bean cream with the remaining olive oil, sage leaves and a little lemon juice to taste. (Note: the sage leaves add a slightly bitter flavour to the bean cream. The sage tastes even better when fried).
- Serve with fresh baguette or as a pasta sauce (see tip above).
