Roasted white beans with caesar-style dressing

Use any crunchy salad leaves you like here, but I particularly love the combination of gem lettuce and red chicory for the contrast in colour and between the sweeter and more bitter leaves

Serves 2–3 as a main or 4 as a side • Ready in 40 mins

3tbsp ghee or olive oil

400g tin white beans or chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1tsp dried thyme or rosemary 1 handful walnuts or pecans 1 handful bread chunks (about 1 slice sourdough/country style bread cut into 1cm chunks)

1 little gem lettuce

1 head red chicory or another little gem lettuce

For the tahini dressing (makes extra, see tip):

2 anchovy fillets (from a jar or tin) 2½tbsp tahini (stirred well in the the jar first)

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped ¾tsp Dijon mustard

2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3tbsp lemon juice

1 handful grated Parmesan or other hard cheese, plus extra to serve 1 Heat the oven to fan 220C/gas 9. Put 1½tbsp of the ghee in a large roasting tray then pop in the oven to heat up.

2 Meanwhile, dry the beans well in a clean tea towel to ensure they don’t spit in the hot ghee.

3 Once the tray is hot, remove from the oven and toss the beans in the melted ghee, along with a good pinch of salt and pepper and the dried herbs, then spread out in a single layer. Roast for 15 mins.

4 Add the remaining ghee, nuts and bread chunks, tossing everything together well then spread out again in a single layer and pop back in the oven to cook for another 10 mins.

Remove the tray from the oven and let the roasted bean mixture cool for 10 minutes, if you’ve got time, as it will crisp up more as it cools.

5 Meanwhile, add the dressing ingredients to the small bowl of a food processor, with about 4tbsp of water, then whizz to combine. Season with salt and pepper adding 1–2 tbsp of water if it needs thinning. 6 Slice off the ends of the lettuces and separate the leaves, then wash and dry well so that the dressing doesn’t slide off. Arrange haphazardly on a big serving platter. Scatter the roasted bean mixture over the leaves, drizzle over half of the dressing and sprinkle with extra grated cheese.

Per serving: 567 cals, 40g fat,

16g sat fat, 30g carbs

TIP You’ll have extra dressing leftover for another day; use it as a dip, in a wrap or tossed through a pasta salad.