White Bean Puree With White Truffles Recipes

HERB-CRUSTED RACK OF LAMB WITH WHITE BEAN PURéE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the breadcrumbs, herbs, zest and Parmesan into a food processor with 1 tbsp of the oil and some seasoning. Blitz until everything is finely chopped.
• Heat the remaining oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Season the lamb, then brown it well on all sides and turn off the heat. Turn the racks so that they are fat-side up, and brush liberally with the mustard (Step 1, above). Pack over the herb crust (Step 2), drizzle with a bit more oil, and roast for 25 mins until the crust is golden and the lamb is cooked - this will produce lamb that is pink in the middle but cooked all the way through. If you like your lamb rarer, roast for only 20 mins; if you like it more done, give it 5 mins more. Put the lamb on a board to rest.
• While the lamb is cooking, blitz the beans with the garlic, anchovies, rosemary, lemon juice, some seasoning and 7 tbsp olive oil (or enough to make it a smooth purée. Tip into a saucepan to gently heat.
• Wilt the spinach in the remaining olive oil in another frying pan. Once the lamb has rested, carefully carve it into chops (Step 3), trying to keep the crust intact. Divide the warm bean purée between 4 plates, add a small mound of spinach, then arrange 3 lamb chops on top of each portion. Sprinkle with stray crumbs and drizzle with a little olive oil.

WHITE BEAN PUREE, RADICCHIO, AND RED ONIONS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and gently cook the onion until it's soft but not colored. Add the beans, garlic, chicken stock or water, and salt and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes.
• Process the beans and their cooking liquid in a blender or food processor with the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice, leaving the mixture slightly chunky. Taste and adjust the seasoning to taste.
• Halve each radicchio. Then thickly slice each radicchio into circles or cut each half into 4 sections, trimming and discarding the base and a little of the white heart from each section.
• Halve the onions and trim the base of each. Cut each half lengthwise into crescent moon-shaped wedges, each about 3/4 inches wide at its thickest part. (Or just slice them horizontally, if you prefer.)
• Mix the olive oil, balsamic, and seasoning together in a dish. Put the onions in a bowl and the radicchio in another bowl then drizzle both with dressing. Gently turn to coat and let sit for about 10 minutes.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat until really hot but not smoking. Cook the onions quickly until well colored on all sides, turning once or more. Reduce the heat to low and let the onions cook, turning frequently, until softened, maybe 2 minutes or so.
• Meanwhile, spoon the white bean puree into a serving dish, reheating it gently first if you want to. The puree can also be served at room temperature.
• Increase the heat under the onions to medium-high, add the radicchio to the skillet, and cook just until the radicchio is wilted and colored on each side-this will happen very quickly, say, 45 seconds or so. Pile the radicchio and onions on top of the white bean puree. Season with salt and black pepper, and serve with a little oil drizzled over the top.

MASHED WHITE BEANS WITH TRUFFLE OIL

Steps:

• Sort the beans to make sure they are free of stones or other debris. Rinse, then cover with cold water, refrigerate, and soak overnight.
• The next day, drain the beans, place them in large pot, and cover with the stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the beans for 2 hours, or until they are soft, tender and yield to pressure when squeezed between your finger tips.
• Add the salt only in the final 15 minutes of cooking since the addition of salt earlier in the cooking process will result in tough beans.
• Pour the beans in to the bowl of a food processor. Begin to pulse the beans along with any of the stock that may have remained from cooking. Add all the remaining ingredients except the truffle oil and pulse together with the warm bean puree. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and add freshly ground pepper if needed. Return the bean puree to a pot set over low heat or a double boiler to keep warm. Serve each portion of puree with a drizzle of truffle oil.

CAPPUCCINO OF WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Cover the beans with cold water, add the onion, carrot and herbs. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until tender.
• Remove 3-4 tbsp of the nearly cooked beans and set aside for serving. Continue to cook the rest for another 10-20 minutes or so until very soft, topping up with more boiling water if necessary. Drain and discard the vegetables and herbs. Place the beans in a food processor and whizz to a purée until creamy. It may be easier to purée half at a time, ladling in some of the stock to slacken the mixture and get it going. Stop the machine after 2-3 minutes, scrape down with a spatula, correct the seasoning, add a bit more stock and buzz again. The longer you leave it puréeing, the smoother it will become; 4-5 minutes should do it. Return to the same pan. Stir in the stock and seasoning, bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes.
• Brush the mushrooms to remove any soil then slice down them for the best shape, but not too thinly or they will shrivel when cooking. Heat a non-stick pan until quite hot, add the oil, then the mushrooms, and sauté until they start to colour. Now add the 25g/1oz of butter and continue to sauté until just cooked. Keep the heat in the pan high, as you want to roast rather than boil them. Season and drain.
• Rub the soup through a fine sieve with the back of a ladle for a fine velvety texture. Return to the pan and stir in the cream. As the mixture almost comes to the boil, add the truffle oil, if using. (If you add the oil when the mixture is cold, it may split.)
• When ready to serve, divide the reserved beans (they don't need re-heating) and mushrooms between warmed soup cups. Add the knob of butter to the near-boiling soup then froth with a hand blender (do this for 4-5 minutes to get it really light) then slowly pour the soup into the cups from a ladle to three quarters full, wiping the ladle over the edge of the pan so the soup doesn't drip. Hold back the froth in the pan then scoop that on top of the cups to serve.

ROASTED RACK OF LAMB WITH WHITE BEAN PUREE AND RED WINE REDUCTION

Steps:

• Heat olive oil for red wine reduction in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery; saute until slightly brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add Cabernet, tomatoes, apple, vinegar, butter, and garlic; simmer until sauce has reduced and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15 to 30 minutes. Strain and keep warm.
• At the same time, combine beans, butter, and garlic for bean puree in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 25 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender, adding white whine to thin if needed.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Combine bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, rosemary, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the bowl of a food processor; pulse gently until blended.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Season lamb with salt and pepper and sear racks on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Coat racks liberally with bread crumb mixture.
• Transfer to the preheated oven and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 145 degrees F (68 degrees C), 12 to 15 minutes. Allow racks to rest before cutting into 2-rib servings.
• Place ribs in the center of serving plates. Drizzle reduction sauce on and around the ribs and spoon the bean puree into slight mounds on 3 sides outside the reduction.

WHITE BEAN PUREE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, sweat the garlic in chicken stock. Add the beans and cook until heated through.
• Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree with the remaining ingredients, except hot pepper sauce. Adjust seasoning, and add hot sauce, to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.

WHITE-BEAN PUREE WITH WHITE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Cover the beans with water, and soak overnight. Or use the quick- soaking method: Cover the beans with water, bring to a boil, and boil 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside for 1 hour.
• Drain the beans and discard the soaking water. Place the beans, onion, sage, garlic and oil in soup kettle. Add fresh water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cook, covered, at a bare simmer until the beans are very soft, 40 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the age of the beans. Keep a teakettle of water simmering, and as the beans absorb the liquid, add more water, little by little. The beans should always be covered by liquid but never swimming in it.
• If fresh sage is used, remove the sprigs and discard. Place the beans and liquid in a food processor, and process until very smooth. If using fresh white truffle, scrape half into the puree, and continue processing until well blended. Serve the puree immediately, with the remaining truffle shaved over the surface. If using truffle paste, puree the entire amount with the beans just before serving.