Name: Butterbean Purée with Onions and Garlic
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1 medium onion; 75 g/3 oz butter, plus extra for dotting over the top; 2 cloves garlic; 2 teaspoons caster sugar; 2 rounded tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs; black pepper; 275 g/10 oz dried butterbeans; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 good sprig fresh bay leaves; 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese; salt

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Josceline Dimbleby’s Complete Cookbook

By Josceline Dimbleby

Published 1997

About

People are often rather scornful about butterbeans but their name is apt, as they do have a truly buttery flavour. Their only fault is that they break up easily but this makes them particularly suitable for soups or purées. This is a good dish to serve with a salad or vegetables for a light meal.

Ingredients

275 g/10 oz dried butterbeans
1 good sprig fresh bay leaves

Method

Soak the butterbeans in cold water for 8 hours or overnight, then drain. Put them in a saucepan with the bay leaves and cover with plenty of water. Bring to the boil and boil briskly for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1-1½ hours, until very soft.

Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice the onion. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Melt