Whipped butter beans, fried sage

A fluffy and light whipped butter bean pillow with a tangy vinaigrette on top, finished with fried sage and capers on top. It’s the perfect side dish for a seafood lunch.

Ingredients:

Whipped butter beans:

2 cans of butter beans, rinsed and drained, 1/2 a tin reserved for the salsa

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of half a lemon

a big pinch of salt

cracked black pepper

Butter bean vinaigrette:

1/2 a red onion, sliced thin

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

zest of a lemon

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

1/2 red cayenne chilli, deseeded, diced

2 anchovies, brown, minced into a paste

1 garlic clove, minced into a paste

2 tbsp olive oil

Garnish:

handful of capers, drained

handful of sage leaves

approximately 4 tbsp vegetable oil, or olive oil, for frying

Method:

To make the whipped butter beans: Rinse and drain two cans of butter beans in a colander. Reserve 1/2 a tin of butter beans for the salsa. The other 1 and 1/2 tins will be blended into the whipped butter beans. Shake off any excess water and add 1 and 1/2 tins of butter beans into a food processor, along with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth all throughout, add a splash of cold water if needed to get it super smooth. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

To make the butter bean vinaigrette: Combine red onions with red wine vinegar and set aside while you chop and slice the rest of the ingredients. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix to combine. Squeeze out extra red wine vinegar from the red onions and add them in. Measure 1 tbsp of the red wine vinegar and add it in too. Mix everything together. It should be spoonable and easy to pour off the spoon. Add more olive oil if it’s not like a chimmichurri consistency.

To fry the capers and sage leaves: add oil to a fry pan and bring to high heat. Throw the sage leaves in first and fry for about 1 minute, or until the sizzling stops significantly. Remove from the pan and leave on a paper-towel lined plate. Fry the capers next for about 2 minutes, or until they crisp and begin to look golden. Transfer them to a paper-towel lined plate too.

To assemble: spoon whipped butter beans onto a serving plate and spread to create a pillow-y scene. Spoon the butter bean vinaigrette over top, following with fried capers and sage leaves.Finish with a pinch of flakey salt. Enjoy with seafood!