Butter Beans on Toast

Hot tips for dried beans:
 
Flavorings: Add various aromatics into the water with your beans to flavor them. Today we will simply use onion, garlic, and a bay leaf, but you can also add in thyme, rosemary, or a little lemon zest. Get creative!

Bean Hack: Do not throw away that bean water! It’s full of goodness and flavor, and a great base for soups. Store your cooked beans in a clean jar, covered in their cooking liquid. They will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days, and in the freezer (store in plastic Tupperware, not glass) for up to 3 months.

Add a tablespoon of oil: This helps reduce foaming while the beans are cooking, which can sometimes clog up the pressure valve and interfere with cooking.
 
Timings: Age and bean variety can affect the cooking time for dried beans. If your beans come out a little al dente, simply set them to pressure cook for a few more minutes.
 
Liquid Level: If making a double or triple batch of dried beans, adjust the water so it covers the beans by a few centimeters. However, don’t fill the pot more than halfway full with liquid. This is an additional precaution against overflow due to foaming during cooking.
 

Ingredients:
For the beans
1 cup dried butterbeans
3 cups water
1/2 garlic clove (use the rest below)
1 bay leaf
¼ onion (use ½ if your onion is small)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
 
For the Boujee Beans on Toast
1 punnet colourful cherry tomatoes (about 180g/1 ½ cups)
3 tbsp chopped parsley
2-3 slices sourdough bread (1 slice per person)
1 40g packet rocket
½ clove garlic
 
for quick lime pickled red onion
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 lime

OPTIONAL: Add a poached or soft boiled egg if you like!

Olive oil, salt, and pepper as needed

Method:
 
Place the dried beans, water, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and oil into the inner pot. Place the lid on, select Pressure Cook on High, and cook the beans for 50 minutes. Allow them to naturally release for 10 minutes. This helps to prevent them from bursting and splitting and prevents any stray bean foam from clogging the pressure valve.
 
While the beans cook, prepare your lime pickled red onion. Thinly slice the red onion, add it to a bowl, squeeze over the juice of one lime, and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Toss everything together, and give it a stir every couple of minutes while the beans cook, to recoat the onion in the lime juice.

Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and finely chop the parsley.

Once the beans are done cooking and 5 minutes into their natural release, prepare your toast. Toast your bread, brush a little olive oil on both sides and pop it back into the toaster for 30 seconds to 1 minute to get really lovely and golden brown. Once golden, rub the remaining half of your garlic clove over the slices of bread. This will give the toast a lovely mellow garlic undertone.
 
Once the beans are done, strain off the cooking liquid and reserve for future use (see tips above). Add the drained beans to a bowl, with 3 Tbsp olive oil, your tomatoes and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the bean mixture over your garlic toasts, and finish with some lime pickled onion and a scattering of rocket. Serve immediately.

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