From dal to butter beans: Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes for legumes | Food (2024)

Tamarind greens and mung beans with turmeric oil (pictured above)

This echoes the flavours of southern Iran, with a few additions and tweaks. It works as a vegetarian main (serve it with fluffy white rice or flatbread) or as a side to all sorts of things: pan-fried tofu, say, or grilled prawns.

Prep 30 min
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Serves 4

Put a large saute pan for which you have a lid on a medium-high heat, and add four tablespoons of oil. Once it’s hot, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 18 minutes, until soft and browned. Transfer a third of the onions to a bowl, then add the crushed garlic, chilli, spices and tomato paste to the onion pan and cook, stirring, for a minute more, until fragrant.

Towards the last 10 or so minutes of cooking, put the remaining three tablespoons of oil and the sliced garlic in a small frying pan on a medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 12 minutes, until the garlic is lightly golden, then stir in the turmeric and chilli flakes, and turn off the heat.

Transfer the bean mixture to a large, shallow bowl and squeeze over the lemon half. Top with spoonfuls of yoghurt followed by the reserved onions, then spoon over the crisp garlic slices and their oil. Garnish with a handful of picked coriander and serve warm.

Lamb shanks with beluga lentils and apricots

Prep 25 min
Cook 3 hr 35 min
Serves 4, generously

For the apricot salsa
80g soft-dried apricots, roughly chopped and soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
4 tbsp (15g) fresh coriander, roughly chopped
3 limes – zest finely grated, to get 1½ tbsp, and juiced, to get 2 tbsp
3 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6.

On a high heat, melt two tablespoons of the ghee in a large, oven-proof cast-iron saucepan for which you have a lid. Season the lamb shanks with half a teaspoon of salt, then sear them in the hot fat for six minutes, turning as necessary, until they’re golden all around. Transfer to a plate and leave the pan to cool slightly.

Remove from the oven and use tongs gently to lift out the shanks and transfer them to a plate. Stir the lentils, beans, cream, sugar, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper into the pan, then return the lamb to the mix. Cover again and bake for another 90 minutes, until the lamb is fork tender and the lentils are soft – give it all a good stir halfway through, and add a splash more water if the sauce is too thick. Stir in the last tablespoon of ghee and set aside.

While the lamb is cooking, make the salsa. Drain the apricots, then put in a medium bowl with the coriander, lime juice and zest and oil, toss to combine and set aside.

Gently transfer the shanks to a plate. Spoon the lentil mixture on to a large, shallow platter, sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of cumin powder and drizzle with the extra cream. Top with the shanks, spoon over the salsa and serve.

Butter beans with preserved lemon, chilli and herb oil

5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 mild red chillies, finely chopped, seeds and all (30g net weight)
1 tbsp coriander seeds, finely crushed in a mortar
3 preserved lemons (80g), inner parts discarded and skin finely sliced (45g)
1½ tbsp picked thyme leaves, roughly chopped
4 rosemary sprigs
1 tbsp tomato paste
175ml olive oil
Flaked sea salt and black pepper
1 x 700g jar good-quality large butter beans, drained (550g net weight) – I like the El Navarrico brand
2 large vine tomatoes (220g), roughly grated and skins discarded (120g)

Put the first eight ingredients and a quarter-teaspoon of flaked salt in a medium saute pan on a medium-low heat. Stir everything together and heat gently for 25 minutes, until very fragrant but not at all coloured (if the oil gets too hot, turn the heat down low).

Meanwhile, mix the grated tomato with half a teaspoon of flaked salt and a good grind of pepper.

Pour the butter bean mixture into a shallow bowl, spoon over the grated tomato, mixing it in a little in places, and serve at room temperature.