Here's a new version of beans on toast, combining creamy butter beans with crisp bacon, cottage cheese and mustard. Accompanied by a fresh salad, this makes a fabulous meal that is ready to serve in about 15 minutes.
For borlotti bean and blue cheese Italian rolls, place 2 cans borlotti beans, 400 g each, drained and rinsed, in a saucepan with 80 g crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, 2 tablespoons natural low-fat yogurt and 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese (or 2 extra tablespoons yogurt). Heat very gently, stirring frequently, until the cheese melts and the beans are hot. Stir in 1 tablespoon sundried tomato pesto and serve on crusty Italian rolls, split in half and lightly toasted. You can accompany the toasted rolls with an Italian-style fennel and rocket salad. For the dressing, whisk 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil with 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice and pepper to taste. Add 1 thinly sliced fennel bulb, 80 g rocket leaves, 1 thinly sliced small red onion and 30 g stoned black olives, and toss just before serving with the Italian rolls.
*As their name suggests, butter beans have a buttery flavour. They offer plenty of dietary fibre, essential for a healthy digestive system.
*Trimmed of fat, lean bacon is a high-protein, low-fat ingredient that provides particularly useful amounts of thiamine which is essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system.