Brothy Beans with Onion Squash

Brothy Beans with squash and pesto

Brothy Beans with Onion Squash

Heartier than a soup but equally comforting, this is the sort of food I crave in December. It’s the sort of dish that I can happily eat with just a spoon, the bowl propped up on my knees as I rewatch Love Actually for the zillionth time. I love the buttery softness of roasted onion squash but butternut is equally good. You don’t need to make the pesto but I usually have some sort of pesto knocking about in my fridge and love the zap of freshness it brings. Make sure you go for good quality jarred beans for this as it makes all the difference.

INGREDIENTS

| Serves 4 |

  • 1 onion squash ( or use butternut)

  • ½ white onion, finely diced

  • 660g jar of cannelloni beans (I love Bold Bean Co.)

  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, removed from the stem

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 150ml water or stock (I love Take Stock)

  • 10g parmesan or Grana Padano, finely grated

  • Zest of 1 lemon

For the pesto

  •  Small handful fresh sage leaves

  • Handful of parsley

  • 40g roasted hazelnuts

  • 30g parmesan or Grana Padano, finely grated

  • 1 small garlic glove, finely grated

  • 1 lemon, zest and juice

  • Olive oil

METHOD

  • Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Halve the squash, scoop out and discard the seeds and cut into wedges. Place onto a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt and toss to coat using your hands. Roast for 40 minutes or until slightly charred.  

  • As the squash cooks heat a good glug of olive oil in a frying pan and gently cook the onion for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add in the jar of beans with the bean broth. Then add the thyme, bay leaves and water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 mins until slightly thickened.

  • Add the parmesan, and cook for another 2-3 mins until it has melted into the broth. Then add the zest of one lemon and a generous dose of freshly cracked black pepper. Taste for seasoning.

  • While your beans are simmering make the pesto. In a food processor, blend together the sage, parsley, hazelnuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and juice and a good glug of olive oil until well broken down. I like to then transfer the pesto to a small bowl and gently add more olive oil to reach a textured loose pesto.

  • To serve, divide the brothy beans among bowls, top with 2-3 wedges of squash. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and spook over the pesto.  

Vegetarian, Vegan, MainsAlexandra Dudleybeans, cannelloni beans, onion squash