Flageolet bean casserole

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Vegetarian mains

Flageolet bean casserole

Main Serves 8 50 min
In France, flageolet beans are a traditional accompaniment for lamb. They are available semi-dried in the pod late summer/early autumn, but the rest of the time it's dried or tinned. Not only are flageolet beans good with roast lamb, but they also make a great meal the following day with any leftover scraps of lamb and/or a sausage or two.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 leeks, halved lengthways and finely sliced
  • 3 carrots, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 good sprig fresh rosemary, leaves only
  • 2x400g tins flageolet beans, drained and rinsed (or 350g dried flageolet beans, soaked for 1 hour and boiled until al dente)
  • 2 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1x400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 30g butter
  • 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • splash balsamic, muscatel or sherry vinegar
  • salt and pepper

Method

Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 40 min

  • Step 1

    Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion, leeks and carrots for 5 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and rosemary leaves and cook for 2 minutes.

  • Step 2

    Stir in the flageolet beans, fresh tomatoes and tinned tomatoes and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Just before serving, add the butter, parsley and vinegar and season. The vinegar sharpens it up a little and makes it a better partner for the lamb.