What can I say yum, yum and yum. This was an experiment and it worked perfectly. I have wanted to try butter bean mash for ages and I thought it could be a bit bland so I added a dollop of tapenade it was delicious. Next I had to think about a sauce or gravy to me I wanted to match the Mediterranean flavours of the butter beans, I have made red pepper hummus before and had a few left in a jar so I thought this will be my base and I’ll layer it from there. I love paprika and added the saffron to make the colour pop. Another great thing is you can make the gravy and mash in advance and just heat them up when your ready to serve.

Ingredients

For the gravy

• 200ml vegetable stock, hot
• Pinch of saffron strands
• 1/2 banana shallot, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika
• 2 anchovies, chopped (optional)
• 3 large roasted peppers from jar
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Splash of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 drops Tabasco sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Pinch of pepper
• Salt to taste (I didn’t need any due to Parmesan and anchovies)
• 1 tsp oil, for frying

For the butter bean mash

• 1 tin of butter beans, drained
• 1 tbsp olive tapenade,
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 – 3 tbsp warm water
• Seasoning to taste
• 1 tbsp butter

For the chops

• 2 pork chops
• Good pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp of oil and butter for frying

Directions

For the gravy

1. Make the stock with boiled water and add the saffron strands so the infuse the stock while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Heat some oil in a saucepan, add the shallots and cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until they soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Add the tomato Puree and paprika stir to coat the shallots. Chuck in the anchovies.
4. Poor in the stock and reduce heat to a simmer
5. Put the red pepper and Parmesan in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Pour this into the stock. Give in a good stir.
6. Finish off by adding the oregano, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, lemon juice and pepper. Have a taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Turn off the heat and just reheat when your ready to use it.

For the butter bean mash

1. Add the butter beans, tapenade, olive oil and water to a food processor, blitz until nice and smooth.
2. Add seasoning and tip into a microwave friendly bowl put the knob of butter on top and cover with cling film. Set aside until your ready to use it. When you are pop it in the microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. Stir and serve.

For the pork chops

1. Pre heat oven to 200 degrees fan
2. Melt the butter and oil in an ovenproof frying pan (the oil stops the butter burning) season the chops and add to the pan.
3. Brown the chops on each side for a few minutes per side or until golden. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the chops to some foil and wrap to keep warm. Rest for 10 minutes.

Serve by adding all of the ingredients between 2 serving bowls. Enjoy 😊