This recipe is another easy one to extend for more people. Although it uses frozen spinach you can use fresh or even young nettles, like I have on the vegan page. A little parsley is good with it too but it’s optional, only if you have some growing on a window ledge or in the garden.

I have also put up the recipe for breakfast pancakes, although you can have them any time of the day.

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Breakfast
pancakes and fruit

Lunch
cheese on toast

Dinner
Butterbean and spinach

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Butter Beans with Tomatoes and Spinach  
Adapted from Rick Stein From Venice to Istanbul

Ingredients

1 x 400g tin Butter beans
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic cloves, chopped
6 tablespoons olive oil
½ Teaspoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoons tomato purée
1 x 400g tin tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large handfuls of frozen spinach
Small handful fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Small handful fresh mint, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C or Gas Mark 3.

Gently soften the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil for 5 minutes.

When soft, stir in the paprika, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, 100ml water, salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and butter beans and take off the heat.

Add the chopped herbs.

Transfer the beans to a casserole pan, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and bake for  about 25-30 minutes until the beans are tender and the sauce thickened and bubbling.

Serve with bread or rolls

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Breakfast Pancakes

Ingredients

100g oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of sea salt
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
150ml milk

Serve with maple syrup and bananas or a few defrosted berries

Method

Mix all the ingredients together in a bender then add a little oil in a frying pan.

Place a tablespoon of the mixer in the medium hot pan and repeat to cook a few at a time, but make sure they’re not touching, after a couple of minutes turn them over and cook the other side until golden brown.

Serve with maple syrup and fruit.