By Melanie Gulliver

Occasionally you find a super quick recipe that you love, and this is such a recipe for me. Perfect for wintry evenings when you come in from work or sport, and just want to hunker down by the fire with a simple tasty dinner that is still fresh tasting, and not a packet warmed up in the microwave! This dish is totally plant-based but it covers all the main nutrient groups. If you want to, you could always add some crispy croutons or pan-fried bacon as a topping too.

Ingredients- makes 1 portion:

2 tsps. olive oil

280g can of beans – haricot blanc in French- or butter beans- any soft white bean, drained.

100g cherry tomatoes

50g spinach (you can use kale as well), washed and stalks/stems removed. Kale should be torn roughly.

30g walnuts, roughly broken into small pieces

1 garlic clove, crushed or finely sliced

½ tsp nutmeg

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt to taste

Directions:

Turn oven to 150°C, and once the oven is warmed up put the walnuts on a baking tray and roast gently for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the beans in a single layer. Stir to coat the beans and leave them to fry for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until they start to brown and crisp slightly. Add the tomatoes (and more oil if you need to) and allow them to cook for around 5 minutes, and then squash them gently with a spoon so they are broken down but not too mushy. Finally add the spinach (or kale) to the pan with some more oil and the salt and allow to cook for a few minutes. Spinach will wilt down, but if you are using kale, the kale should crisp up.

Stir in the walnuts and garlic. Wait 10 seconds, then stir in the nutmeg.

Wait 10 seconds and then stir in the lemon juice.

Remove from the heat and serve.

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Melanie Gulliver is the Clever Chef and a Director of The Clever Kitchen, a local company delivering organic nutritious wholefood meals to Monaco and along the Cote d'Azur, and holding regular nutrition workshops in Monaco and Nice.  Melanie takes orders for custom cakes and events as well.

Contact details:

www.theclever.kitchen

Melanie@theclever.kitchen, +33 (0)6 15 21 63 53
FB: facebook.com/thecleverkitchen1
Instagram: @tck.delivery and @thecleverkitchen