Tasty Tuesday is back {is it just me, or are the weeks absolutely flying by?} with another of my favourite side dishes. The temperature has dropped considerably in Sydney so I’m all about comfort food this week. One pot risotto, roasted vegetables, mash, thick hearty soup, baked fruit with custard {Bubba’s favourite!} … the kind of warm food that makes your tummy happy.

When I think if mash, I think of my mumma’s mashed potato. Which I never make. Because, despite the fact that I love to cook {and think I’m pretty good at it just between you and me!}, I know that you don’t mess with perfection. So whenever a craving for mashed potato happens, or I’m too sick to eat anything other than vegemite toast or mashed potato, I call in my mumma. Who delivers every single time, lucky us.

This is an alternate mash that I love though, and is so super easy to make. You can use any kind of white beans you like: cannellini, butter, borlotti, navy, pinto, or any combination of the above. You can soak them and cook them yourself if you’d like to, but one of the things I love about this recipe is how quick and easy it is if you use readily available organic tinned beans. This week cannellini beans were on sale at our local providore, so that’s what we’re having. 

So, what do you need?
1 tin of white beans, rinsed well {when you start to rinse them, you’ll notice a lot of bubbles – you want to rinse them until no bubbles appear}
4 or 5 basil leaves
quarter of a teaspoon of stock powder {I like Massel chicken – although it’s vegetarian, it really does give a chicken flavour}
1 tablespoon of butter
1 minced clove of garlic
pepper to taste

Okay, now what do you do with it?
Melt butter, add garlic and stock over medium heat, stirring until butter has melted and garlic and stock are mixed in.
Add shredded basil leaves and stir until coated.
Pour your beans and stir through until warmed through.
Remove from heat and mash. The consistency of mash will depend on your personal taste. These days I just fork mash the beans, but when Bubba was first eating solids, I would puree them super finely. She loved them then and she loves them now.
Grind in some pepper to taste. I find this dish doesn’t need salt, but that’s a personal preference. If you’re going to add salt, make sure you taste-test before you do {any excuse to taste the mash really}!

As with last week’s bit on the side, white bean mash is super versatile – you’re limited only by your imagination and your taste buds.

I’ve got a feeling my sweet tooth may reappear next Tuesday, and I’m going to test out a couple of my favourite sweet recipes replacing the sugar with agave this week. Don’t forget to swing by next Tuesday to see how I go!