White Bean, Fig and Leek on Toasted Rosemary Filone Bread

Well, it's been a while since I posted a fig recipe so I figure it's safe to post another. Technically, this isn't a fig recipe, it's main ingredient would be white beans, so really, I am totally mixing things up here.

This recipe is the recipe which inspired all of the other fig recipes. The one I have been waiting for fig season to make..... patiently. I saw this on one of my favorite blogs, Mostly Eating and immedietly thought, "Wow, that is a creative use of ingredients, I have to try it!"



 I recomend cooking dried beans instead of using canned. I'm lucky enough to have a pressure cooker, so I can cook beans at the last minute and have fresh beans in 7 minutes that have retained ALL of the nutrients and are so moist and flavorful.

If you don't use dried beans choose Organic, Low Sodium canned ones. My mouth literally fell open when I compared the sodium content to regular canned beans.

The only things I changed to Sophies recipe was adding a bit of broth to the mixture while I was pulsing/pureeing it because it was a bit dry for me. Maybe it's because it's like 120 degrees here right now. I used dried Navy beans instead of canned cannelini beans ( the grocery didn't have cannelini at the time). I also squeeze just a bit of fresh lemon juice to the finished dish just because I love fresh lemon and thought it went wonderfully with this dish. Very summery.

 I didn't let my figs dry long enough and they were a bit to fresh/mushy. This most definatly would have been better if the figs were a bit chewier. Ah, well I look forward to making this again very soon!
My pictures don't do them justice, I ran out of sunlight.

Thanks for sharing Sophie!

makes about 4 servings    TIME 30-40 minutes

You will need: 

2 tsp olive oil
Sprig rosemary, finely chopped
Half a leek, finely sliced (about a cup)
4 semi-dried figs, chopped
1 cup dried white beans,  Cannelini, Navy,  Great Northern etc.
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly Ground Peppercorns (optional)
1/4 cup broth or water if needed
Rosemary Filone Bread or other crusty bread

Putting it all together:

Boil or cook beans in pressure cooker. I put a strip of Kombu (seaweed) int the beans as they cook to break down the gases and aid in in digestion. Kombu is chock full of minerals and does not affect the taste of the beans. Do not add salt to the beans as they cook. Wait until done, then add salt if needed.
Put the olive oil into a pan and turn the heat to low. Add the chopped rosemary and warm in the oil for five minutes.Add the leek to the pan, turn up the heat a little and cook for a further five minutes, until the leek is softened but not browned.
Next add the beans and figs to the pan and cook for a further five minutes.

Using a hand emersion blender if you have one, blitz the mixture until coarsely pureed (or smoother if you prefer).  Add broth if puree is to dry. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over top, gently mix to coat. Top with freshly ground pepper.

Serve on top of  toasted crusty bread, I used my home made rosemary filone bread, sliced, drizzled with EVOO and put under the broiler for 4 minutes.

I put a strip of Kombu (seaweed) int the beans as they cook to break down the gases and aid in in digestion. Kombu is chock full of minerals and does not affect the taste of the beans.