Cannellini beans and zucchini on toast

A lovely summer recipe, this is perfect if you – or someone you know – has a glut of zucchini, but it also brings out the very best in shop-bought zucchini. You can use other tinned beans, or edamame, too.

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 firm, medium zucchini (courgettes) (about 350g total weight)
• 1 garlic clove, slivered
• 2 tsp baby capers or chopped larger capers
• 2 tsp finely chopped preserved lemon, or finely grated zest of ½ lemon
• 400 g tin cannellini beans, drained, 1–2 tbsp liquid saved (or from a jar, about 240 g drained weight)
• 2 large slices of wholegrain bread
• Sea salt and black pepper

To finish

• A squeeze of lemon juice
• Extra virgin olive oil, to trickle
• A small handful of parsley, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (ideally at least 28 cm) over a medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and fry, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden. In the meantime, slice the zucchini (courgettes) about 5 mm thick.
2. Add the zucchini to the pan and fry for 10–15 minutes, until it is softening and colouring in places, turning up the heat a little if you need to.
3. Toss in the garlic, capers and preserved lemon or lemon zest and cook, stirring now and then, for a minute or two.
4. Now add the beans with the saved liquid (a nice way to lubricate them a little). Stir well, then put the lid on the pan and cook gently for a few minutes to heat the beans through. Taste to check the seasoning and add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
5. Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread.
6. Pile the bean and zucchini mixture onto the hot toast. Spritz with lemon juice, trickle with extra virgin olive oil and scatter with chopped parsley, if you like. Serve straight away.

Note

• You can switch in any tinned bean or chickpeas here. You can also use frozen edamame beans: put them into a pan, cover with boiling water and simmer until tender while you cook the onions and courgettes; drain and add at the end.
• For a crunchy finish, toast 2 tbsp pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds in the dry frying pan before cooking anything else; set aside. Scatter the toasted seeds over the courgettes before serving. Or finish with dukka if you have some made.
• A little finely grated parmesan (or veggie alternative) or cheddar is a good finishing touch.

Recipe and image from High Fibre Heroes by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury Publishing, $54.99)

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.