Butter beans with blistered tomatoes and mozzarella

Serves: 4
Course: Salads
Cooking Time: 0 hr 10 mins
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 500g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 2 x tins cooked butterbeans, drained
  • 3 tbsp marjoram, oregano or basil, torn
  • 2 x balls mozzarella, torn
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, an aged, syrupy one if possible 
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • To serve: A green salad or thin slices of sourdough, toasted

1 Place a heavy cast-iron pan, if possible, over a high heat. Add the olive oil and warm through before adding the tomatoes. Leave to cook for a minute or two until they begin to blister, then stir them gently. Season with salt and add the crushed garlic to the pan for the last 30 seconds, just remove the raw garlic taste but be careful not to burn it.

2 Place the beans in a bowl and add the tomatoes and any juices from the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and fold through most of the herbs. Spoon the bean mix into four bowls, divide the mozzarella between the bowls and scatter with the remaining herbs. Serve right away while the tomatoes are still warm.

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a food writer