April 2025 - Leann’s Butter Bean and Local Green Spring Veg Broth

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 for a main course

Ingredients

150g dried Butter beans soaked for at least six hours in cold water

1 large Leek

1 bunch Spring Onions

Any Fresh Herbs (I’ve used around 20g each of flat leaf parsley, dill, thyme and chives but really any herbs that you enjoy will be lovely)

1 bunch English Asparagus

1 bunch (around 250g) Purple Sprouting Broccoli

1 bunch Plastic Free Spinach, washed

6 x Garlic Cloves

2 Lemons zested and cut into halves (I’m using the beautiful Amalfi leafy lemons we currently have in stock but standard lemons will do the job)

1 pack Wirral Watercress, washed and de-stemmed

150g Podding Peas

1 large glass of White Wine

Olive Oil

Salt

Ground Black Pepper

Method

1. Finely chop the garlic, slice the leek and spring onion, then keep half of the garlic to one side.

2. Put a slug of olive oil in a flat based pan, once heated Gently fry the leek, spring onion and half of the garlic until soft and translucent (around 5 mins) stirring occasionally, but being careful not to colour.

3. Meanwhile trim the asparagus and purple broccoli, then keep to one side.

4. Pod the peas and roughly chop up the spinach, then finely chop all of the herbs.

5. Add a glass of white wine to the pan with the leek, onion and garlic in. Turn the heat up and leave until the wine comes to a boil, then add the soaked beans along with around a litre of water. Bring back to a boil then turn the heat down and leave to simmer with a lid on until the beans are soft, around 15 minutes.

6. Once the beans are soft squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon, then throw in most of the chopped herbs, the chopped spinach and the peas. Season with salt and black pepper. Turn the heat off but pop a lid on.

7. Heat a large, flat based pan and add a splash of olive oil. Gently fry off the remaining chopped garlic. Once soft pop the asparagus and purple broccoli in the pan and give a good roll around in the oil and garlic so it’s all got a thin coating, you might need another little drop of oil.

8. Cook for around 2 minutes on each side then add the zest of the lemons and squeeze in the juice of the remaining lemon. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and turn off the heat.

9. To assemble simply spoon a good ladle full of broth into a bowl, pile on a few stems of asparagus and a couple of stems of broccoli. Pop a nice clump of watercress on top and drizzle with a little olive oil.

10. Enjoy!