October 27, 2021 / In food , pork / Tagged as: gammon, butter beans, kale, cabbage, cannellini beans, bay leaf, parsley

Gammon and Butter Beans and Kale

Total Cook Time

15 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 thick slices of Gammon Steak (250-350g each)
  • 2 x 400g Butter Beans or Cannellini Beans
  • parsley, flat leaved
  • bay leaf, 1-2

Method

  1. Warm a couple of tbsp of olive oil in a shallow pan.
  2. Lightly season the gammon steaks with pepper and fry for 6-7 minutes on each side until firm and the fat is pale gold.
  3. Set aside in a warm place but don’t wash the pan.
  4. Drain 2 x 400g tins of butter beans and rinse them of their liquor. Tip the beans into a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil.
  5. Add a couple of bay leaves to the beans, if you like.
  6. Lower the heat and let the beans simmer for 7-8 minutes until they are thoroughly hot, then drain.
  7. Put the beans into the bowl of a food processor with a good handful of flat-leafed parsley, 4 tbsp of fruity olive oil, a little black pepper and a twist or two of sea salt, and whizz to a smooth cream.
  8. Return the beans to the pan and keep warm.
  9. Fry the kale in the pan in which you cooked the gammon, turning it over in the fat, over a high heat, for a minute, moving it around the pan so it doesn’t burn.

Tricks

To prevent the gammon steak curling as it cooks, score the edges with a knife or make small cuts into the fat with a pair of kitchen scissors.

Alternates

Instead of beans you could use….

  • green peas boiled and then puréed with a thick slice of butter and a little tarragon.
  • or use broad beans or edamame, the latter with a little coriander leaf.
  • potato mash with parsley.

Instead of kale you could use….

  • cabbage par boiled for a few minutes and then tossed in the pan used to cook the gammon for a few minutes.