I found this recipe in Jamie Oliver’s ‘Jamie at Home’ cookbook but I’ve changed it slightly to use fresh spinach instead of rainbow chard. I love chard, but it only tends to be available in the supermarkets when it’s in season during the winter and even then I struggle to find it.
I thought fresh baby spinach would work just as well instead and I could then eat this dish when I’m working from home and add lots of chilli as I don’t have to worry about my little boys complaining about the heat!
Miraculous ingredients: fresh baby spinach, fresh rosemary, lemon juice
Cannellini beans, fresh spinach, rosemary, chilli and lemon
Ingredients
230g canned cannellini beans, drained
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 dried red chilli, crumbled (you can leave the chilli out if your children don’t like the heat)
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
250g fresh baby spinach leaves
The juice of ½ a lemon
Sea salt to season
Method
Place a small dry pan on a low heat to warm while you prepare the ingredients.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the warm pan and then the chopped rosemary, garlic and chilli. Fry for 2 minutes on a low heat until the garlic has just started to colour golden. Add the drained cannellini beans, sea salt (check the right amount for you by tasting the beans), stir and warm through for a couple of minutes.
Divide the beans between two plates.
Give the pan a quick rinse and then add all the spinach, a tablespoon of water and cover with a lid. Gently cook the spinach on a low heat until it has all wilted, approx. 4 minutes. Drain any excess water (spinach releases quite a bit when it cooks), add the last tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice and mix.
Divide the spinach between the two plates of beans and enjoy!
Preparation 5 minutes, cooking 6 minutes, serves 2