haricot beans with shellfish

I became very fond of the Haricot beans while working in London. They do not require soaking and pair wonderfully with seafood - proving very helpful when lacking a fish garnish heading into a busy lunch service.

Author

Anna Quayle, Fitzroy Town Hall Hotel

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of white wine
• 500g clams
• 500g mussels
• 500g haricot beans, soaked overnight and drained
• 4 shallots, finely diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 1 red capsicum, finely diced
• 1 red chilli, finely diced
• Good glug of Mount Zero Frantoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• Generous pinch of saffron strands
• 2 tubes calamari, scored and sliced
• ¼ cup of chopped parsley, basil and oregano
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, quartered
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Mount Zero Pink Lake Salt, to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Heat the white wine in a deep-edged frying pan. When at a simmer, add the mussels and clams in and steam until cooked. Strain shellfish keep the cooking liquid.
3. Sweat shallots, garlic, red capsicum, and chilli in a heavy based frying pan with olive oil and a pinch of pink lake salt.
4. Add beans, crushed tomatoes, saffron strands, smoked paprika, fish stock and the cooking liquid from the shellfish and bring to the boil.
5. Cover with a lid and braise in the oven for 90 minutes - or until the beans are soft.
6. Add the steamed shellfish and calamari. Stir through the beans to heat the shellfish and cook the squid, incorporating the fish with the stew.
7. To finish, add the herbs and cherry tomatoes. Season with lemon juice, pink lake salt to taste and a drizzle of olive oil.