Recipe: Leeks and beans on toast

Beans, on toast, but definitely not beans on toast

The great curse of dating an American is that I cannot, for love nor money, convince her that we should ever eat beans on toast. What was once a semi-regular supper has become something I sneak in when she’s out or away on holiday, a small treat that I don’t even love all that much, but take joy in because I can’t eat it often otherwise.

This recipe is not for beans on toast, which really doesn’t demand much instruction. But it does involve beans, and they go on toast, so I’ll count that as some small measure of success in Vivian’s slow conversion.

Perhaps ironically, this isn’t even really my recipe — credit actually goes to Vivian herself, who slowly worked this into regular rotation for lunch and the odd lazy dinner over the past few months.

It’s that perfectly forgiving sort of recipe that only demands a few specifics — leeks, beans, toast — and allows the utmost improvisation around that. Kale is a regular addition, going into the pan for the final few minutes to cook down a little; I’m sure spinach would suit the same role too. I love to top mine with a fried egg, and there’s no reason not to sprinkle on a dusting of parsley or other good herbs if you have them. You could even ditch the toast and eat this as a simple stew, or atop a scoop of mash, but toast feels proper to us.

This isn’t a dish that comes together in seconds — it needs a good 20 minutes on the stove for the beans to soften — but it demands little of your attention, making it well-suited to a work-from-home lunch hour or that sort of tired weeknight cooking that really requires a dish that will do the hard work for you.

Ingredients

To serve two