Sophie Wyburd’s Bitter Leaves with Butter Bean Croutons
This is about to become your go-to for the times when you need the perfect fresh side salad for hearty autumnal dinners. As seen on Saturday Kitchen.
From the book
Tucking In
100 recipes for unapologetic everyday comfort food.
Everything from laid-back traybakes for reduced washing-up to moreish pasta dishes,
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Introduction
Side salads do not have to be a limp and boring affair. I often use ‘a crisp salad’ as a description for a side dish suggestion, and I am firmly of the belief that the dressing has to be pretty punchy. The bitterness of endive is an absolute joy here, offset by the mustardy dressing, sweet with roasted garlic. The star of the show, though, is the crispy butter beans, who have rubbed shoulders with olive oil and rosemary during a short spell in the oven, adding texture and bulk to this dish. In fact, the addition of the beans makes this feel substantial and exciting enough that you may very well promote it from side dish to main.
Ingredients
| 2 x 400g tins | of butter beans |
| 4 | rosemary sprigs |
| 6 | garlic cloves |
| 4 | red endives or 1 large radicchio |
| 2 | baby gem lettuces |
| 1 | red onion |
| juice of 1 | lemons |
| 2 tsp | Dijon mustard |
| 6 tbsp | red wine vinegar |
| salt, pepper and olive oil |
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
Drain your butter beans, then rinse them with water. Pat them dry with paper towels, then tip them into a baking tray. Pick the rosemary leaves into the tin, then add your whole garlic cloves, skins and all. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and season with ½ teaspoon of salt, then toss it all around so the beans are coated in oil. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until crispy and golden.
Meanwhile, cut the ends off your endives or radicchio and baby gem lettuces and separate out the leaves. You may need to occasionally trim down more of the ends to release more leaves. Pop these in a colander and give them a rinse with cold water, then set aside.
Peel and finely slice your red onion, then pop this into a small bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt, and scrunch it up with your hands to start pickling the onion.
Squeeze your roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and into a small bowl. Add the Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and 12 tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl, then season your dressing to taste with salt and 10 twists of black pepper. Whisk to combine.
Add your leaves to a salad bowl and pour over the roasted garlic dressing. Briefly massage the dressing into the leaves so that each leaf is coated, then add the pickled onions and roasted butter beans. Toss the salad so all the ingredients are combined, then serve.
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