Buttered cannellini beans and lamb stew

In France and Italy they often use beans as a side dish instead of potatoes or rice. Inspired by the backstreet bistros in Paris this dish is rich, warming and delicious, great with fish and meat alike. I use a small amount of butter to emulsify the bean juices in to a rich sauce and add kale to balance the richness because of its dark mineral flavour. I cooked it last night to accompany a rich lamb stew and it was delicious! 

Ingredients

3 cans white cannellili beans, 1chicken bouillon cube,3 handfuls of chopped green kale, 50g butter, salt and pepper, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary finely chopped.

Drain 2 of the cans of beans and add to a large pan along with the remaining can of beans and it's juice. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Add the bullion, rosemary, seasoning and butter and stir until well combined and creamy. 

Add the kale, mix in to the beans, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes until the kale is cooked through. You may need to add a drop of water to loosen the sauce. 

I cooked the lamb stew in my slow cooker, simply add 1 pack smoked pork lardons, 1kg diced lamb, 2 roughly chopped red onions, a handful of quartered button mushrooms, 2 whole springs Rosemary and 2 tins of chopped tomatoes to a slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover and slow cook for 8 hours. 

Once cooked transfer to a large pan and on a medium heat gently reduce the stew until the sauce thickens. Remove the Rosemary stems, add salt, ground black pepper, some smoked paprika, and chopped tarragon to taste. 

This stew is super rich and smoky and went beautifully with the cannellini beans and kale.