The Back Yard Lemon Tree

This cannellini puree makes a brilliant starter on its own, works well in a broader mezze spread as well as making a nice side with some kind of vegetable fritter or roasted veggies like cauliflower or broccoli. It is lighter than a regular hummus style dip and a bit more versatile in the way you can serve it.

This dish comes together very simply and easily, but it does require a bit of forethought. You will need to pickle the mushrooms and soak the beans the day before. Canned beans will not cut it as they do not have the required creaminess for this kind of puree. If you wanted to go lighter on the oil you could use baked pitta croutons but the fried croutons are really delicious, excellent to dunk in it and elevate it to a very special occasion dish.

Cannellini Bean Puree with Pickled Mushrooms and Pitta Croutons

Adapted from Plenty More – Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves four as a starter

• 250grams dried cannellini beans soaked overnight in water with 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 50grams tahini paste
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil plus and extra 40 mls of olive oil for frying croutons
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
• 2 pitta breads broken into 3cm pieces (120g)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley to garnish
• Salt and white pepper

Pickled mushrooms

• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 160mls of cider vinegar
• 180mls water
• 1 tablespoon of brown miso (Optional – if skipping the miso add an extra tablespoon of sugar)
• 80 grams button mushrooms cut in 0.5 cm slices
• 1/2 a red onion (60grams) very thinly sliced into pinwheels
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon of red peppercorns (optional sub with more black pepper)
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt

The day before serving, put beans onto soak and prepare pickled mushrooms

For the pickle

Place mushrooms, onion, peppercorns, all spice berries, bay leaves in a heatproof non reactive bowl.

Mix sugar, vinegar, miso, water and salt into a medium saucepan, bring to the boil until sugar is dissolved pour over mushrooms and spices. Leave to cool, cover and place the fridge overnight.

The next day

Drain and rinse beans place in a large sauce pan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and gently simmer beans, skimming the surface a few times to remove froth. Depending on the the beans this can take from 30 minutes to an hour.

Drain beans but reserve some of the cooking liquid for the puree. Place beans in food processor with tahini, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Process until very smooth, add bean liquid to get a consistency of a fluffy runny mash. Add more salt, pepper and lemon juice to season if desired.

For the croutons

Pour 40 mls of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil into a frying pan and heat to high. Fry pita bread in oil, shaking the pan to get bread crisp and golden all over. (About 3 minutes) Transfer to a colander and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

To serve

On a large platter, swirl puree over the plate. Spread mushrooms over puree, sprinkle over a few tablespoons of vinegar and a couple of teaspoons of the aromatics. Strew some croutons over the top, sprinkle over some parsley and serve.