White bean toast with Provençal ratatouille
Load charred sourdough with chilli-spiked white bean purée, fresh ratatouille and Provençal pesto for Marcus Wareing’s French-style toasts.
Ingredients
For the pistou sauce
For the white bean purée
- 300g/10½oz cooked white beans, rinsed (such as haricot beans from a jar or tin)
- glug oil
- ½ lemon, juice only
- ½ fresh red chilli, seeds removed and finely diced
- 1 slice crustless bread (optional)
- pinch salt
For the ratatouille
- 1 aubergine, halved
- 1 red pepper
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- splash olive oil
- 1 fresh heritage tomato, finely chopped
- 1 courgette, finely chopped or grated
- splash white wine vinegar
- handful fresh basil leaves, torn, to garnish
To serve
- white sourdough bread
- pistou sauce (from above)
Method
Put all the pistou sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Put the white bean purée ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth but still retaining some texture. You can add a chunk of crustless bread to the mix if you’d like your purée to be thicker. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Drizzle the aubergine and whole red pepper in oil, then put directly onto the grill to char and soften. If using a barbecue, place the red pepper directly onto the coals to char.
Gently fry the shallots in a pan with some olive oil until soft.
Chop the cooked aubergine then do the same with the red pepper (peeling and removing the seeds first). Put into a bowl with the heritage tomato and raw courgette. Add the cooked shallots, a pinch of salt and pepper, the white wine vinegar, a glug of olive oil and the basil.
Char or toast the bread, then spread a generous spoonful of white bean purée on top. Add a tablespoon of the ratatouille, then top with the pistou.
