Recipes for cooking with beans (and baby)

A CHEF who founded a gourmet bean company during the coronavirus pandemic and created a cookbook two years ago has written a second volume.

Amelia Christie-Miller, who grew up in Swyncombe, moved to Barcelona with her husband six months ago, where she runs the Bold Bean Co.

In 2023, her book, Sunday Times bestseller Bold Beans: Recipes to Get Your Pulse Racing came out and the follow-up, Full of Beans: Delicious Beany Recipes to Obsess Over, has just been released.

Amelia says: “Barcelona has been incredible, though it’s taken some adjusting!

“The food culture here is exactly what I needed — beans are everywhere and they’re treated with the respect they deserve.

“The move was partly strategic. I’m due to have a baby in November and the childcare here is so much more affordable than London and living here keeps me a lot closer to where the beans are produced.”

While studying at the University of Edinburgh, Amelia was a private chef, going on to work in a Gail’s Bakery after graduating.

During a stay in Madrid while on a university exchange, she tried an heirloom butter bean and was immediately hooked.

For the uninitiated, she suggests the company’s Queen Butter Beans. “Honestly, they’re the gateway drug — eat one straight from the jar first. I know it sounds mad, but that’s exactly what converted me in Madrid all those years ago.

“When you taste a properly cooked, high-quality bean, it’s a revelation.

“Then, once you’ve had that ‘bean epiphany’, try them very simply — just queen butter beans with good olive oil, lemon zest and cracked black pepper, maybe a dollop of fresh pesto. Serve with some decent bread. It’s so simple but it lets the beans really shine, and people are always shocked that something so uncomplicated can be so satisfying.”

The range of beans available to buy also includes white beans and chickpeas (regular and organic), carlin peas, black beans, red kidney beans and borlotti beans, which each have a chapter in the book.

With a mouth-watering tomato soup with cheesy butter beans to cheesy Marmite butter beans on toast with pickled shallots, the cookbook features something to cater for all tastes.

Other recipes include a butter bean saganaki, creamy coconut and tomato curry, sausage and butter bean stew, butternut squash and sage beanotto and crunchy chickpeas, spicy cauliflower, whipped feta and pomegranate slaw, with salads, pies, toasts and roasted vegetable dishes.

It has a breakdown of bean types and there are also top tips scattered throughout.

So, they’re simple and straightforward to use, with no off-putting prep beforehand? She says: “Absolutely, that’s exactly why we put our beans in jars, not dried bags. Years of being told beans are faffy has put people off completely.

“Look, if you want to soak dried beans overnight and cook them from scratch, I respect and actually encourage that journey but most of us don’t have the time or mental space for that level of meal planning. The beauty of jarred beans is they’re ready to go. Our beans are soaked and cooked using the exact same method you’d use at home, just done properly in small batches. You get all the flavour and that crucial tender texture without any of the faff. And here’s the key — don’t throw away the bean stock, it’s liquid gold, full of flavour and perfect for making ‘beanottos’ or adding body to stews.

“Even if you’re using tinned beans, I’ve got a hack. Drain and rinse them, then simmer with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and salt for 15 minutes. It transforms the texture completely. We want to remove every possible barrier between you and bean obsession…”

Lemon and cheese are recurring flavours in the recipes.

“You’ve spotted my weaknesses! Lemon because it just makes everything sing — whether it’s Nigella’s marinated rump steak with lemon, thyme and garlic, or a simple lemon posset for pudding. There’s something about that acidity that just lifts everything.

“And cheese — well, beans and cheese are just meant to be together. My current obsession is this hangover cure my husband makes that’s featured in the cookbook: sourdough toast with cream cheese smashed chickpeas, Asian pickled cucumbers and a fried egg cooked in sesame and chilli oil. It sounds mental but it’s absolutely divine.”

Do you have a secret Marmite source in Barcelona?

“Oh god, you’ve found me out! I’m not even that much of a Marmite obsessive and more of a Vegemite girl myself — my mum’s an Aussie.

“However, there’s something about not being able to get it that makes you want it desperately. Luckily there is an international food shop.”

Baby food company Ella’s Kitchen started in Rotherfield Greys. Are there any plans for a “baby beans” cookbook?

“Ha! Well, who knows? I have been reading about how the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are really crucial for gut health — so the amount of beans they’re eating is key. I think I need to have the baby first though…”

New mums are often advised of the benefits of batch cooking. Will you do this when baby comes along and are there beans that lend themselves to this? “Absolutely, this is something I’m already planning for. Beans are actually perfect for batch cooking because they freeze beautifully and get even more delicious when they’ve had time to absorb all those flavours.

“I’m also completely obsessed with our new baked beans for this — they’re literally designed to be the ultimate convenience food when you can’t be bothered to cook properly. Straight from jar to microwave, or you can jazz them up with some cheese and serve with eggs for a proper meal.”

l Full of Beans: Delicious Beany Recipes to Obsess Over is out now from all good bookshops. For more information, follow ‘ameliachristiemiller’ on Instagram.