Life

James Street Cookery School: Beans, chorizo and pancetta; meatball and white bean cassoulet

Niall McKenna's beans, chorizo and pancetta
Niall McKenna's beans, chorizo and pancetta Niall McKenna's beans, chorizo and pancetta

AS WINTER draws in there is nothing nicer than coming home to something warm, fulfilling and tasty. Both of this week’s dishes can be prepared the day before for dinner and work well as handily packed lunches for the office.

I know that people are genuinely too busy to cook every day but there is nothing better than taking the time to cook a couple of wholesome meals for during the week. These dishes also use shop-bought ingredients and are great for all the family or large groups.

BEANS, CHORIZO AND PANCETTA

(Serves 4)

500g butter beans

1 onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf

½ bulb garlic

250g pancetta, chopped

250g cooking chorizo, chopped

2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tsp sweet paprika

Method

If you plan to use tinned butter beans put these in at the end. If you plan to use packed dried beans you will need to cook these through. To cook butter beans, first soak them in cold water overnight. Discard the water and place the beans in a pot, cover with fresh water and boil gently for up to two hours until cooked.

Fry the onion in a little oil with the garlic and, once soft, remove from the pan and dry off the pan. Next, cook off the pancetta until crispy and then remove from pan and set aside. Cook the chorizo until browned, then add all the ingredients back into the pan and cook through on a gentle heat for 30 minutes before adding the beans to warm through. Season to taste then serve with a crusty piece of bread.

MEATBALL AND WHITE BEAN CASSOULET

(Serves 4-6)

1 tblsp olive oil

6 pork sausages, removed from the skin (or you can use minced pork from your butchers) and rolled into meatballs

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 sprigs fresh rosemary, picked from stems

pinch sea salt

pinch black pepper

350g cherry tomatoes

250ml chicken stock

2 tins butter beans, rinsed from the juice

4 sprigs flat leaf parsley, picked from stem and roughly chopped

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat; add the meatballs and cook, stirring to make sure they don't stick. Once browned all over, add the onion, garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper and cook for four minutes until soft.

Add the stock and tomatoes, stir, put a lid on and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, remove lid and cook on a simmer for five minutes until the stock has reduced slightly. Add the beans and cook until these are warmed through. Sprinkle with the flat leaf parsley and serve.

Serve with crusty bread.