Recipe for Butter Beans with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes from Chef Yotam Ottolenghi

Chef Yotam Ottolenghi shared with us this delicious Butter Beans with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes recipe from his new cookbook, Ottolenghi Comfort. Source the larger butter beans (lima beans), or judiones, for this, if you can. They’re softer, more buttery, and much creamier than the smaller ones (that come in a can). This dish works well as part of a mezze spread, or can be eaten as it is, with something like crumbled feta or olives on top.

Butter Beans with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb 2 oz/500g cherry tomatoes 5 tbsp plus 2 tsp/85ml olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced (1 cup/150g)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp thyme leaves, roughly chopped, plus a few whole thyme leaves to garnish
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1⁄3 cup/80ml dry white wine 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 x 25-oz/700g jar of good-quality butter (lima) beans, drained and rinsed
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• ¼ cup/75g Greek yogurt
• thick slices of sourdough (or any crusty) bread, toasted (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Toss the tomatoes with 2 teaspoons of the oil and spread them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, until the skins have loosened and the tomatoes are soft and have shrunk a little. Remove from the oven and transfer the tomatoes, along with all their juices, to a shallow bowl to cool.
3. Re-line the baking sheet with a fresh sheet of parchment paper and decrease the oven temperature to 250°F.
4. Once cool enough to handle, pinch the skins off the tomatoes and place the skins on the lined baking sheet. Return the sheet to the oven for about 45 minutes, until the skins are dry and crisp, giving them a good stir a couple of times during baking. Set the skinless tomatoes aside.
5. Put the remaining 5 tbsp/75ml of oil into a medium saucepan and place on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, fennel seeds, and bay leaf and cook for 10–12 minutes, until the onion has softened but has not taken on too much colour. Add the wine, simmer for 2 minutes to reduce, then add the paprika. Cook for 1 minute, then add the reserved tomato flesh, along with 1 teaspoon of salt. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring often so that the tomatoes break down. Add the beans and a good grind of pepper and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, just to warm through, then remove from the heat. Spread the yogurt over a serving plate and then pile the beans on top. Crumble the dried tomato skins over the top, finish with a sprinkling of thyme leaves, and serve with the toasted sourdough (if you like).

Keeping notes: Once made, the beans keep for up to 3 days in the fridge: just bring them back to room temperature before serving. The crispy tomato skins are a great thing to have around as well, to add to salads and pasta dishes. The recipe comes from a restaurant called Bar Rochford in Canberra, Australia, where they’re served with fresh green beans. They keep for 1 week in a sealed jar.