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Tuscan Borlotti Bean and Cavolo Nero Stew with Potatoes

A thick, creamy Tuscan-style stew of borlotti beans, potatoes, celery and cavolo nero, with no cream at all. A vegan dinner with 17g of fibre that freezes well, ready in 65 minutes.

Dinner

65

Serves 4

A shallow bowl of creamy borlotti bean stew with chunks of potato, celery and wilted dark green cavolo nero

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp (30ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion (about 150g/5oz), finely chopped
  • 2 sticks celery (about 100g/3½oz), sliced
  • 1 carrot (about 80g/3oz), diced
  • 3 cloves garlic (about 12g), sliced
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried
  • 3 x 400g (14oz) tins borlotti beans (cranberry beans), drained and rinsed (about 720g/1lb 9oz drained)
  • 300g/10½oz waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte or Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 3cm/1¼in chunks
  • 750ml/3 cups low-salt vegetable stock (check the label if you need it gluten-free)
  • 200g/7oz cavolo nero or curly kale, tough stalks removed, leaves shredded
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice, a pinch of chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) and black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft but not browned.
  2. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans, potatoes and stock, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
  3. Lift out the rosemary stalks. Scoop out 2 ladlefuls of beans and liquid, mash them roughly with a fork and stir back in. This is what makes the stew creamy.
  4. Add the cavolo nero and simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, until the leaves are tender and the stew has thickened. Stir in the lemon juice, chilli flakes and plenty of black pepper. Taste before adding salt, as stock is often salty.
  5. Serve in bowls. It keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days and freezes for up to 3 months; reheat until steaming hot all the way through, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.

Why it works

A bowl gives you about 17g of fibre and 15g of protein for 347 calories, mostly from the borlotti beans.

Creamy without cream. Mashing a couple of ladlefuls of beans and stirring them back in releases their starch and thickens the broth, the same trick used in many Italian bean soups.

Why cavolo nero. Cavolo nero is a dark Italian kale that holds its shape in a long simmer. Like other leafy greens, it provides vitamin K, folate and some calcium.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. The potatoes and beans bring 42g of carbohydrate, but with 17g of fibre and plenty of protein from the beans, this stew is unlikely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar.

Contains celery; stock often contains celery too. Check the stock label if you need it gluten-free. For more bean dishes, try the minestrone soup with cannellini beans or the chicken, butter bean and kale pot.