I am a massive fan of pulses and grains, but there is always an issue of their mild flavour. Here, bacon and the bacon fat provide a wonderfully salty, meaty flavour boost that works so well with the beans and tomato purée.
Once heated through, so all the flavours marry, this salad is chilled to serve cold, but you could serve it straight away as a hot salad or side dish. Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar has a delicious sweet acidity that is a little more complex than balsamic, and adds more depth of flavour to any dressing, which is why I often use it in my recipes.
A classic vinaigrette dressing consists of a fat and an acid, such as olive oil and lemon juice or rapeseed oil and cider vinegar, so the use of bacon fat in this recipe is just a different fat flavour.
Serves 4
200g French beans, topped and tailed
150g podded broad beans
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
200g smoked streaky bacon in one piece, diced
100g butter, cubed
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon tomato purée
150g canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
150g canned white beans, such as haricot, drained and rinsed
150g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon oregano
a handful of basil leaves
3 tablespoons Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and place a bowl of iced water in the sink. Add the French beans to the boiling water and blanch for 3–5 minutes until tender. Add the broad beans to the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds. Drain well, then immediately plunge them into the iced water to stop the cooking and set the colours. Leave both beans to cool, then drain them.
Pop the broad beans out of their grey outer skins and cut the French beans into ½cm pieces. Put both beans in a large bowl and leave to one side until needed.
Heat a large dry frying pan over a high heat. Add the cumin seeds, and toast, stirring constantly, for 1–2 minutes until aromatic. Add the bacon and butter and continue frying and stirring until the bacon is crispy and golden brown. Strain the bacon and cumin seeds through a fine sieve, reserving the butter and bacon fat.
Pour a little of the fat back into the pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, and fry, stirring, for 3–5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and stir for a further 1–2 minutes. Add the tomato purée and stir for a further minute.
Add the blanched beans and canned pulses to the pan and stir over a high heat for a further 1–2 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and toss the beans around. Add the oregano and basil – you can just tear in the basil leaves, there isn’t any need to chop them. Tip in the bacon and cumin and mix, then transfer the salad to serving bowl.
Whisk the reserved bacon fat with the Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar and season. Pour over the bean salad and serve or leave to cool completely. When it’s cool, cover and chill until about 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve.
Tom’s Tip
This bean salad is particularly good served with fish, such as mackerel or tuna. Basically, you can use any oily or meaty fish.