During our weeks away, I was reminded time and time again that so often simple is best. And it doesn’t get any more simple than today’s hardly-a-recipe recipe. It goes like this:
Top good quality beans from a jar with shallots that have soaked in salted red wine vinegar. Spoon over all of that soaking vinegar, along with a long drizzle of olive oil (if in doubt, keep drizzling). Sprinkle with flaky salt. Crack open a tin of good quality tuna in olive oil, or any other tinned fish you like. Serve with juicy tomato slices and hunks of bread for scooping and mopping. That’s it.
It probably sounds and looks too simple but please trust me. With good ingredients, you don’t need to do any more. This is the simplest of simple summer eating.
Beans with vinegar shallots and tinned fish
My preferred ratio of beans to fish is half a 600g jar of beans to one tin of fish for two people, or a whole 600g jar of beans to two tins of fish for four people. Scale the hardly-a-recipe recipe below accordingly to suit you. As I implied above, this is really about good shopping so try to use the best beans, tinned fish and olive oil you can.
Serves 2
2 or 3 shallots, depending on size
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ x 600g jar of beans - white beans, butterbeans of borlotti are my preference here
Extra virgin olive oil
Tin of olive oil packed fish
Sliced juicy tomatoes and hunks of bread, to serve
Thinly slice the shallots and toss in a small bowl with the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside to soak for 5 minutes as you drain the beans, season your tomatoes, slice your bread into hunks, gather your plates, and do any other kitchen pottering.
Put the beans on a large plate or platter. Top with the shallots and all of their vinegar. Drizzle with lots and lots of olive oil - more than you think. Season well with flaky salt. Crack open the tinned fish. Serve with the tomatoes and bread. Repeat all summer long.
Bits & bobs
This is on the to do list
Tinned fish that I’m desperate to get my hands on
Courgettes, but different
This makes me want to freeze stone fruit
“Just the ticket” my husband would have said. Thank you, it looks just up my street