Spiced Beans

This is most commonly found as Sabzi’s breakfast dish; served with a jammy fried egg, crumbled feta and Greek yoghurt.

I’d certainly recommend it as a wonderful antidote to the more classic rich breakfasts of the season, but it also has many other uses – why not make a big batch, and freeze a couple of portions at a time, ready to defrost for a festive breakfast served à la Sabzi. Alternatively how about…

• A last minute supper with friends – bake off some garlic baguettes, throw together a quick green salad with Sabzi’s House Dressing and sprinkle with our newest product – Sabzi’s spiced seed topper – for texture and spice.

• A light lunch after a bracing beach walk – this is extremely delicious with a baked spud and lashings of butter and parmesan.

As ever, please use this recipe as a guide – if you’ve not got certain spices feel free to sub for what you do have, if you don’t like squash, swap for carrots etc!

Ingredients

Makes approximately 5 litres for freezing

• 1 x butternut squash

• 2 x medium onions

• 4 x cloves garlic

• 1 bunch rosemary (a supermarket sized bunch is great)

• 1 x tsp cumin seeds

• 1 x tsp smoked paprika

• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• 50g tomato puree

• 1 tsp harissa paste (more if you like it hot! We sell an amazing Tunisian harissa at Sabzi)

• 55g date syrup (again, at Sabzi if you need it!)

• 15ml balsamic vinegar

• 15g dark brown soft sugar

• 2 x tins chopped tomatoes

• 1 x tin’s worth boiling water

• 1 x small jar roasted red peppers (or equivalent raw peppers)

• 1 x tall jar butter beans

• 1 x tin borlotti beans or any beans of your preference

Method

Preheat your oven to 180c.

Dice butternut squash and onion and place in roasting trays. Feel free to add any other seasonal veg you like; carrots would be lovely here along with pumpkin, beetroot, whatever you like! Rub well with your preferred oil for roasting (I recommend a good quality, small batch rapeseed oil), add the rosemary and season well. Roast until tender.

In a large pan add garlic and oil and sweat gently to avoid colouring the garlic. Add all your spices and cook gently until they become fragrant. Add harissa paste and tomato puree and cook gently for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes, water, date syrup, vinegars and sugar and bring to a bubble.

Turn the heat down and cook gently for at least 45 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

Drain your beans and add them to the sauce, finally adding your roasted veg when it’s golden, tender but with crisp edges (this will ensure the squash holds its shape once in the sauce). Taste and tweak to your preference!

Once well cooled decant into tubs for freezing.

When you defrost to reheat, this is delicious with a big bunch of your favourite soft herb stirred through it at the end of reheating – coriander or parsley are my personal faves.