If you’re constantly hearing about the importance of protein in your diet and wondering how to incorporate it, beans are a food group that’s brimming with this essential nutrient.
They can be easily added to any meal, as demonstrated by a recipe recently shared by an Instagram food influencer.
Alfie Steiner, who posts under the handle @alfiecooks, shared a mouth-watering recipe for butter beans with roasted beetroot and garlic purée. In his post, he stated: “If you don’t eat meat like me, butter beans are one of the best and most delicious sources of protein.
He continued: “Here, I’ve combined these juicy legumes with a roasted beetroot + garlic purée. topped with feta + parsley, then mopped up with crunchy buttered toast.
“A bowl like this packs in 20g of protein and fibre per serving! so if you fancy giving it a try, my full recipe can be found below – so enjoy + let me know if you give it a go.”
Butter beans with roasted beetroot and garlic purée
Ingredients (Serves two)
- 700g butter beans
- One red onion
- Two beetroots
- One garlic bulb
- Three tablespoons of nutritional yeast, or parmesan
- 100g of feta, or plant-based alternative
- One lemon
- 15g fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper, to season
- Olive oil
- Two slices of bread
Method
Start by pre-heating your oven to 200°C. Place the beetroot and garlic on a baking tray and season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Cover with foil and roast for 30 minutes until soft and tender.
While the beetroot is roasting, slice the onions and sauté in a frying pan on a medium heat with a splash of olive oil, until caramelised (usually around 10-15 minutes).
Add beans and half their liquid, stir well, andlower the heat to allow them to cook for a further 5-10 minutes.
Once the beetroot has finished roasting, remove them from the oven and peel off their skins before placing them in a blender. Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves, then add the nutritional yeast, a splash of olive oil and the remaining bean liquor.
Blend until smooth, then season with some salt and pepper if desired. Pour the beetroot mixture into the beans and mix well.
Cook for another couple of minutes, before serving into two pasta bowls and topping with crumbled feta, chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest and olive oil. Serve alongside a slice of toast.