Cheaper ingredients – when bought thoughtfully – are good for us and good for the planet. When Dan Buettner identified ‘blue zones’ – five areas across the world that are home to the highest concentration of centenarians – he found that diets rich in legumes, beans and pulses, along with coniferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, were a shared trait among those who live to 100. Their dishes are made up of low-cost, seasonal ingredients, with a big focus on plants.
Getting cheaper ingredients (and by this I mean things like lentils and vegetables, versus cheap ultra-processed food, which is engineered to taste good, but doesn’t do you much good) to taste delicious, though, requires a little more thought.
No one ever fell in love with a bland boiled lentil. But add spices, a dollop of yoghurt and shocking bright pink pickled onions on top, and you’ve got a warming bowl of dal that tastes of much more than the sum of its parts. Bullet-like chickpeas straight from the tin are never going to get my pulse racing, but if you take the time to cook and season them properly, or blitz them into a velvety houmous, they can be a revelation.
This week’s recipe, for smoky beans, is a lesson in treating humble ingredients with care. The method is inspired by brilliant plant-based cook Anna Jones, whose recipe for Boston beans I’ve made many times. My version pulls back on the chilli in the beans, meaning the whole dish is kid-friendly, while I made some sticky, fiery chipotle and honey halloumi to give the grownups’ lunch a kick.
Posh beans on toast with hot honey halloumi
400g dried pinto beans, soaked overnight in 1 tsp bicarb, or two tins with their liquid
2 carrots, tops trimmed
2 red onions, peeled and halved
1 leek, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 large tomatoes, halved
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or Henderson’s Relish
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
For the halloumi
1 halloumi (250g)
3 tbsp honey and chipotle marinade (I used M&S)
Toasted bread, to serve
If you’re cooking the beans from dried, cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil, season with salt and drizzle over a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. Turn down to a simmer, cover and cook until tender.
When you’re ready to cook, add the vegetables, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard to the pot with the beans (if you’re using tins, add to the pot with their liquid). Gently stir everything together and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook for 1 hour, covered. Remove the lid then simmer for another 30 minutes, until the beans are sticky and the liquid has been absorbed. Once ready, taste to check the seasoning and flavour levels are as you like, adding more sugar, soy, mustard etc as needed. Remove the onion and gently mash the carrot and garlic into the beans.
Meanwhile, add the marinade to a shallow bowl and cut the halloumi into 1cm slices. Coat the halloumi in the marinade. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until the halloumi is golden. Reserve any marinade to spoon over the beans.
Toast the bread and pile high with the beans and halloumi, along with any reserved marinade.
The baby step
For very young babies, skip the soy and salt, waiting to add this at the end. Serve the beans as they are, fork-mashed to your little one’s desired texture, with some toast fingers on the side (try spreading the beans onto the toast for finger food).
More favourite budget ingredients
Lentils
Use to bulk up soups and stews, in place of mince in bolognese or shepherd’s pie, toss into salads, blitz into dips.
Frozen fruit and veg
I often use frozen cauliflower in cauli cheese, and frozen peas go into just about anything from curries to pasta sauces (I also give them to my son as an on-the-go snack to keep him occupied). Simmer frozen mixed berries with a splash of honey to make compote for spooning on yoghurt or porridge.
Aliums
Onions, garlic, spring onions or leeks are the base of almost all my midweek meals. Try to allow them proper time to cook and caramelise to add a proper depth of flavour.
Pasta
Cheap, filling, endlessly versatile. You can’t go wrong with a simple tomato sauce (see this excellent recipe from Ed Smith’s new Substack), but you can also add beans, pulses and all sorts of veggies.
Tinned fruit
Add tinned pears to cakes and crumbles, using the sweet syrup too. Tinned cherries are delicious with chocolate mousse or stirred through gently whipped cream with crushed meringues.
Oats
For porridge, of course, but can also be blitzed to use as a replacement for flour in pancakes or muffins, and used to bulk up smoothies.