“My favourite recipe in this book without a shadow of a doubt is the cannellini bean beurre blanc,” says food writer Jack Monroe. For her, this meal sums up the ethos of Tin Can Cook – simple, cheap but still a bit special.
“It’s a recipe you’ll see in the most exclusive french restaurants,” Monroe adds – and she wants everyone to be able to cook and eat it in their own homes. And yes, you really can make this fancy recipe out of tins from your cupboard.
Cannellini beurre blanc
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 400 g tinned cannellini beans or haricot beans drained and rinsed
- 800 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 120 g small pasta shapes
- Pepper
For the beurre blanc:
- 4 tbsp white wine or cider
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp garlic paste or 2 fat cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 25 g butter
Method
- Pop the beans into a large saucepan that will easily hold three times their volume; you will be adding pasta to this later. Cover with the stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes; the longer the cooking time, the softer and creamier the beans will be.
- While the beans are cooking, make the beurre blanc in a separate small pan. Combine all of the ingredients and cook on a low–medium heat for 15 minutes, to reduce the volume and combine the fat and acid together. You will need to keep an eye on this and stir it fairly continuously, as I have burned and lost many a beurre blanc sauce through a moment’s distraction. Turn off the heat and allow the beurre blanc to settle.
- When the beans have cooked for 20 minutes, add the pasta. Cook the pasta for 10 minutes (pasta cooked in sauce always takes a little longer than the packet instructions specify). When the pasta is soft, combine with the beurre blanc sauce. Season generously with pepper, and enjoy.
Nutrition
Tin Can Cook: 75 Simple Store-cupboard Recipes by Jack Monroe is published by Bluebird.
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