Cider-Braised Butter Beans with Parsnip Mash and Pear Salad

Instructions for the Cider-Braised Butter Beans

Build the base flavour

• Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based sauté pan over medium heat — the width encourages gentle evaporation.
  2 tbsp olive oil
• When the oil is warm, add the onion along with the salt. Ensure the onion is spread evenly across the bottom of the pan. Leave the onions to colour up on one side before turning over to colour and caramelise on the other side. Simply allow the minutes to elapse so the onions caramelise, soften and reach their best. This takes 8–10 minutes. This gentle start builds sweetness rather than scorch.
  250 g red onion, 1 pinch salt

Awaken the aromatics

• Stir in the garlic, bay leaves and smoked paprika. Let them bloom for 30 seconds until fragrant — a short awakening, not a fry. Crumble in the stock cube and press it into the pan to ensure it's broken up.
  2 cloves fresh garlic , 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp smoked paprika, 1 stock cube

Braise in cider

• Pour in the cider. Let it fizz and lift any caramelised fond from the base of the pan. Bring to a simmer.
  500 ml dry cider

Add the beans and sauce ingredients

• Add the ingredients listed and bring to a smiling simmer — just a gentle ripple — and cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally so nothing catches. The liquid will thicken slightly and start to coat the beans. The cornflour will do the job of properly attaching the sauce to the ingredients.
  2 tsp apple cider vinegar , 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp maple syrup , 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon zest, 150 ml water, 500 g butter beans , 1 stalk fresh rosemary, 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• Make up the cornflour slurry (cornflour and water mixed smoothly together). Carefully add to the sauce, to allow the sauce to thicken and coat the vegetables. Make up more cornflour slurry if you need to. Or you might need to add a little more water… it depends on the vigour of your simmer and how much water was lost.
  2-3 tsp cornflour, 3-4 tsp water
• Remove the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme sprigs if you want to. Now add the leeks. You're adding at the end so that they add a bright and fresh flavour note. Stir them in, cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes until they are how you wish them to be… They will release their water… Taste and adjust salt and pepper. The sauce should be glossy and spoon-coating, neither soupy nor tight.
  ¼ tsp salt, ground black pepper, 300 g leek

Instructions for the Parsnip Mash

Cook the roots

• Place parsnips and potatoes in a medium, tall-sided pan. Cover with cold salted water — starting cold ensures even cooking. Bring gently to the boil, then simmer until both are tender when pierced, about 15 minutes.
  400 g parsnips , 200 g potato

Steam and dry

• Drain and allow steam to escape for a minute so the edges turn fluffy — dryness here means a lighter mash.

Mash and enrich

• Mash while warm, or use a ricer for finesse. Fold in vegan butter, cultured cream, salt and white pepper. Beat briefly with a spoon to aerate. The mash should feel pale, perfumed and smooth, not heavy.
  1 tbsp butter, 100 g Tofu Cultured Cream, ½ tsp salt , 1⁄16 tsp white pepper

To serve

• Spoon a pool of parsnip mash into warmed shallow bowls. Ladle the cider-braised butter beans over so their glossy sauce just runs to the edges. Add some shards of salad. Scatter over the fresh thyme leaves, crunchy sea salt and fresh lemon zest.

  Serve immediately — a dish of warmth and light, best eaten while the cider still sings.
  2 sprigs fresh thyme, Malden sea salt, fresh lemon zest, Pear, Apple & Verjus Salad with Toasted Maple Walnuts