Haricot bean stew

Raking through the cupboards, determined to make better use of all those things in the cupboards rather than buying more. That’s when you find it - the tin of haricot beans you picked up thinking they were chickpeas when shopping in a rush. Is this the time they finally get their moment in the sun? Yes. They are going in a little haricot bean stew.

A stew? At this time of year? Yes.

Sure, a stew is normally a big, meaty pot saved for frosty Sundays in winter. For those days where you can leave it cooking whilst you go about your day and left its aromas waft. Those are all well and good - go for this venison stew, if that is what you’re after - but there is also another side to the stew life. One that’s lighter, simpler and made for lunches.

It’s a lighter side, one for lunches. It works well when you’ve friends over (remember those times?!) or you’re looking through the cupboards what you can make with those bits and pieces that have been there for forever and a day. It also works as a brilliant antidote to taking mind-numbingly boring - slightly curled at the edges - sandwiches to work.

The haricot bean feels a bit like one of those things you’ve never really seen before - picked up by accident or a short-lived bought of ‘eating better’ curiosity. Who buys them? They’re always in supermarkets so someone must be. What are they doing with them? Truly the questions of our time… Mostly they’re just known for being the beans in baked beans.

But what happens when you add a bit of chorizo, some carrot, onion and bay leaves? A delicious little haricot bean stew is what.

Light, but filling. Not overbearing, but delicious. Something a little different to have for lunch and dinner.

So if you’re casting out a laidback eye for recipes for those beans lying incognito and gathering dust at the back of the cupboard, here’s one to try. It pairs nicely with a glass of crisp white wine whilst sitting in the garden - if that’s an option for you - but also goes quite well to the dulcet accompanying tones of your upstairs neighbours doing the hoovering for the fifth time this week…

It’s got potential for dinner too. Obviously you could just have more of it, but it also is delicious with some shredded chicken stirred through. Or with some spinach, if you want more greens in there.

All in all, this haricot bean stew is just a great little recipe to have up your sleeve. It’s heading towards the lighter foods of summer, but with enough depth to ensure you’re properly fed. It’s easy to make at the weekend and it will sit quite happily in the fridge for when you need it. Lunch or dinner, it’s what you need it to be.