Lemon Garlic Butter Beans and Greens
Written for two and honest about it: this is a small, fast pan dish. It doubles cleanly, but at six servings it needs a wider pan or it stews instead of frying.
Method
- Melt a third of the butter in a skillet over medium heat and toast the breadcrumbs 2-3 minutes until golden. Tip them onto a plate and wipe the pan.
- Melt the remaining butter in the same pan and cook the sliced garlic 60-90 seconds, until fragrant but not coloured.
- Add the drained butter beans and cook 4-5 minutes without stirring much, letting them catch a little colour on the base of the pan.
- Add the broth and lemon zest and simmer 2 minutes, mashing about a quarter of the beans against the pan so the sauce thickens.
- Add the greens a handful at a time and stir until just wilted, about 1 minute.
- Off the heat, add the lemon juice and Parmesan, season, and scatter the toasted breadcrumbs over just before serving so they stay crisp.
Quantities double and triple cleanly here, but the pan does not. At four servings use a 12-inch skillet; at six, use two pans or cook in two batches - beans crowded into one pan release water and simmer rather than browning, which loses the whole character of the dish. The breadcrumbs should always be toasted separately regardless of size.
Mash a quarter of the beans. It costs nothing and it is the only thing turning a watery pan into a creamy one - this dish has no cream in it, and the starch from the beans is doing all the work.
*Approximately 430 calories per serving at any size. Calories are an estimate from standard ingredient databases; actual values vary by brand and portion. See our disclaimer.