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Tin Can Cook: 75 Simple Store-cupboard Recipes by Jack Monroe

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CANNELLINI BEURRE BLANC

I have very little time for the notion that some foods are ‘not for poorer people’ – it is a criticism I have come up against time and again, whether it is kale pesto irritating the commentariat at the Daily Mail, or a slosh of £2.50 table wine in a risotto, there is a frankly hideous misconception that good food is for the ‘deserving’, with the parameters of who deserves exactly what seemingly set by those who have never had a tenner in their pocket to last a week. Sometimes, when testing new recipes, I have a moment of hesitation, wondering how to frame it to reduce the petty background chatter around what I consider to be ‘food for everyone’. And then I carry on.

This was one such recipe. An unctuous and subtly powerful sauce reduced to a thick, provocative shroud for slow-cooked cannellini beans and a scant handful of pasta. It would sit proudly on any hifalutin restaurant menu, but its main ingredient is a tin of beans and a slug of vinegar. You can use wine or cider for the sauce; and only a few tablespoons of each. I make this for myself often, in varying guises; and once you have the knack for it, I’m sure you will too. And politics be damned; I want to live in a world where everyone should be able to put a beurre blanc on the table without hesitation.

SERVES 2
FOR THE BEANS AND PASTA
1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans or haricot beans, drained and rinsed
800ml vegetable or chicken stock
120g small pasta shapes
pepper

FOR THE BEURRE BLANC
4 tbsp white wine or cider
4 tbsp white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 tbsp garlic paste or 2 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped
25g butter

Pop the beans into a large saucepan that will easily hold three times their volume; for you will be adding pasta to this later. Cover with the stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes; the longer the cooking time, the softer and creamier the beans will be.
While the beans are cooking, make the beurre blanc in a separate small pan. Combine all of the ingredients and cook on a low– medium heat, for 15 minutes, to reduce the volume and combine the fat and acid together. You will need to keep an eye on this and stir it fairly continuously, as I have burned and lost many a beurre blanc sauce through a moment’s distraction. Turn off the heat and allow the beurre blanc to settle.
When the beans have cooked for 20 minutes, add the pasta. Cook the pasta for 10 minutes (pasta cooked in sauce always takes a little longer than the packet instructions specify). When the pasta is soft, combine with the beurre blanc sauce. Season generously with pepper, and enjoy.