#54 - Veg-centric Winter Sides + Beany Pasta
Good morning subscribers!
I write to you from the festive season, which if you are anything like me, means parties and dinners absolutely stacked in the calendar.
If you need some inspiration for veg packed side dishes at this time of year which aren’t boring, then I’ve got you. In this bumper newsletter special, you’ll be getting 3 of them! My sprout, apple and walnut salad; sticky carrots with pancetta and sage crumbs AND a hispi cabbage and parsley gratin.
You’ll also get the THRILLING next installment of Feeling Myshelf (my recipe series using store cupboard ingredients) - my beany pasta (otherwise known as pasta e fagioli).
If you’d like access to all of this newsletter, why don’t you consider becoming a paid subscriber? For just £3.99 a month, you get tons of bonus recipes a month (just this week, you are getting 3 extra), plus extra things like my recommendations for restaurants, kitchen kit and even telly I am enjoying.
Enjoy!
Sophie x
The Recipes
Feeling Myshelf Episode 6 - Beany Pasta
My version of that Italian classic pasta e fagioli, because I am a massive fan of the double starch party that happens when you combine pasta with beans. I like whizzing up some for creaminess and body in the broth, and leaving others full for bite. If you had any greens that needed using up, they’d be great in here shredded and thrown in at the same time as the pasta.
I love the depth of borlotti beans here (Bold Bean Co make great ones, and you can get 20% off using the code FEEDER20 on their website), but any white beans you have at home or even kidney beans would work well.
Serves 2
1 onion
1 carrot
1 tsp dried rosemary
400g tinned or jarred borlotti/cannellini beans
400g tinned whole plum tomatoes
1 dried bay leaf
a rind of parmesan, plus 20g for serving
150g short dried pasta shape of your choice
salt, pepper and olive oil
Peel and finely dice your onion and your carrot.
Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat, and add 3 tbsp olive oil. Tip in your onion and carrot, and cook gently for 15 minutes until they’ve softened.
Meanwhile, drain your whole plum tomatoes and borlotti beans in a colander, and give them a rinse with cold water.
Add your rosemary to the onions, and cook for another minute, before pouring in your tomatoes and beans. Pour over 600ml water, and add your bay leaf and parmesan rind to the pan. Add a little salt and pepper, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Add about ⅓rd of your bean mixture to a blender, and whizz it until it is smooth. Pour it back into the pan, then pour in another 500ml water. Bring it up to a simmer, then season it to taste with salt.
Drop your pasta into the pan, and simmer it for 8-10 minutes until it is tender. Top it up with water occasionally if you need to.
Check the seasoning one last time, then spoon it into bowls. Top it with a drizzle of olive oil and a little parmesan, then serve it up.
3 x Excellent Winter Veg Sides
At Christmas, people aren’t necessarily seeking out new recipes. We have our traditions. They may not be trendy ways of cooking things; they may not even be most scrumptious version of a thing, but they are how we have eaten them for years, so they are how we like them.
I’m not coming in here proposing you chuck out all your normal Christmas sides in favour of these ones, but in a meat and cheese heavy time of year, it is often nice to have other great veg based sides under our belt. Your mum might still be in charge of the main event on the 25th (mine certainly is - rightly so), but if you were having a roast with friends in the build up, any of these would make really nice accompaniments.
Sprout, Apple and Walnut Salad
Admittedly serving a salad as a side for a roast would be a bit weird, but this fresh crunchy number is a really fabulous veg dish to enjoy at this time of year. It would be a nice starter to a richer meal, or served as part of a lighter spread (I’m picturing it going really nicely with leftover ham and chutney).
Serves 4-6