The Broad Palate – Nov ’24

Bonfire Pizza Beans – feeds 4-6

Real comfort food, and a great one to come home to after bonfire night celebrations – good on its own or with sausages/ bacon/ toast/ fried eggs/ baked potatoes, etc.! For a non-veggie option, add some cubed, fried pancetta or chorizo before topping with the cheese. Freezes well.

Olive oil
1 medium onion
2 celery stalks
1 large carrot, all finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 heaped teaspoon sweet smoked paprika (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato purée
2 x 400g tins butter beans
100g kale (leaves only) or baby spinach, chopped
12 sliced black olives
150ml vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon sugar or sweetener
salt and black pepper to taste
200g grated hard mozzarella
40g grated Parmesan

Method:

Fry the onion, celery and carrot in a good glug of olive oil over a medium heat for around 15 minutes until softened but not too browned.
Add the garlic, chilli flakes and smoked paprika if using, cook for a further minute. Add a splash of water to loosen any tasty burnt bits.
Simmer for 2 minutes, then add the oregano, tomato purée and tomatoes, plus the olives and the kale or spinach.
Heat your oven to 210C/190Fan or Gas 7.
Stir in the butter beans. Add the stock little by little to the mixture – the sauce should be fairly thick – go by eye.
The beans should not be swimming in sauce. Season well with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Allow to bubble gently for 10 minutes.
Transfer to an ovenproof casserole (obviously skip this step if your frying pan is ovenproof!) and scatter the mozzarella over the top, then the Parmesan.
Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

Rocky Road – makes an 8” square block

Naughty but nice! No definitive recipe here – add whatever you fancy – anything from chopped Turkish Delight to pretzels. Cooking chocolate is fine for this (as are Cadbury’s or Bournville), as it’s less likely to split when melting than the expensive stuff. The addition of butter and syrup to the chocolate allows you to cut the rocky road without needing a pneumatic drill…

150g milk chocolate, chopped
150g dark chocolate, chopped
80g butter
50g golden syrup
4 x 32g Crunchie bars, roughly chopped (or an equivalent amount of your favourite chocolate bars)
175g digestive or Rich Tea biscuits
100g mini marshmallows
80g dried apricots, roughly chopped, or raisins.

Method:

Line an 8” square or 9” x 7” rectangular tin or dish with greaseproof paper.
Put the biscuits in a freezer bag and bash until you have a rough rubble of crumbs and bigger pieces.
Slowly melt the chocolate, butter and syrup in a heatproof bowl over a pan of just-simmering water and stir gently to combine. Try to ensure that the chocolate doesn’t get too hot, as it might split.
Remove from the heat.
Add in all the remaining ingredients, mix well and tip into the tin. Spread evenly, flatten down with a wooden spoon.
Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Cut into squares.

Our thanks to Ann Shaw 🙂