The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s Green Cannellini and Tahini (2024)

Recipes>Vegan Recipes

by The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Teamfrom Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love

Serves 4 as a main, or 6 as a side

Total 1hr 5min

Prep 25min

Cook 40min

As seen on Saturday Kitchen, this herby and zesty cannellini bean dish is packed with core Ottolenghi ingredients, from za'atar to tahini, and also happens to be vegan.

From the book

OTK: Shelf Love

Yotam Ottolenghi, Noor Murad

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love

A collaborative effort from the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen team

Introduction

Variations of warm beans served with tahini are popular throughout the Arab world, with dishes such as chickpea fatteh and ful mudammas with tahini at the forefront. Such dishes are typically eaten warm for breakfast, and are a sure way to keep you full until dinner. They’re the inspiration for these herby cannellini beans, which can easily be served at any mealtime.

Ingredients

	For the tahini sauce:
1	round white or brown pita (100g), pocket opened up, then roughly torn into 2–3cm pieces
1 tbsp	za’atar
75ml	olive oil
3 tins of	cannellini beans (1.2kg), drained (720g)
30g	parsley, roughly chopped
30g	fresh coriander, roughly chopped
30g	chives, roughly chopped
1¼ tsp	cumin seeds, toasted and roughly crushed with a pestle and mortar
1	garlic clove, crushed
2½ tbsp	lemon juice
	salt and black pepper
80g	tahini
1½ tbsp	lemon juice
1	garlic clove, crushed
	For the chilli oil:
2½ tbsp	olive oil
½ tsp	chilli flakes
¼ tsp	paprika

Essential kit

You will need: a food processor.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Toss the pita with the za’atar, 2 tablespoons of oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and spread out on a medium, parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 12 minutes, tossing halfway, or until golden and crispy. Set aside to cool.

2. Set aside 100g of the beans in a medium bowl. Put the remaining beans, 600ml of water and 1 teaspoon of salt into a medium saucepan on a medium high heat. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, or until the beans are nicely softened and warmed through. Keep warm on a low heat until ready to serve.

3. Make the tahini sauce by whisking together all the ingredients with 70ml of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl, until smooth and pourable. It will thicken as it sits.

4. Make the chilli oil by putting the oil and chilli flakes into a small frying pan and placing it on a medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes, then add the paprika and remove the pan from the heat. Set aside.

5. Put the reserved 100g of beans into a food processor, along with the herbs, cumin, garlic, lemon juice, the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, ⅛ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Blitz until smooth, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

6. Drain the warm beans in a sieve set over a bowl, then add them and 100ml of their cooking liquid to the herb mixture, mixing well to combine. You want the beans to be well coated and for the whole mixture to be saucy (but not overly wet), so add a couple of tablespoons more of the cooking liquid if you wish (discarding the remainder).

7. Transfer to a large, lipped platter and drizzle over half the tahini sauce and all the chilli oil. Sprinkle with half the pita and serve warm, with the extra tahini and pita alongside.

Make it your own:

– Play with your beans – we love this with chickpeas too.

– Play with your herbs – use what you have on hand.

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