Warm cannellini bean salad

This warm cannellini bean salad is of those happy marriages of ingredients that are just meant for each other.

The combination of colours, textures and flavours – floury beans, silky rocket and salty pancetta, loosely bound in a lemony crème fraiche dressing – is a delight.

I often serve this salad heaped on a slice of toasted sourdough. I also like to chop the bread into chunks, fry it in olive oil to make croutons, then toss these with the salad just before serving.

Warm cannellini bean salad
(serves 2)

• 2 thick slices sourdough bread
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 65g diced pancetta
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• ½ tsp crushed dried chillies
• 400g tin cannellini beans
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 3 Tb crème fraiche
• 100g rocket
• salt and pepper

1. Toast the sourdough bread and set aside. (Or chop it into cubes, fry in a splash of olive oil and set aside.)
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over a medium flame.
3. Fry the pancetta until crisp, then add the garlic and chillies and fry a couple of minutes more.
4. Add the cannellini beans, lemon juice and zest and heat through.
5. Stir in the crème fraiche.
6. Add the rocket and allow it to wilt before removing from the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Serve heaped on slices of toasted sourdough (or tossed with sourdough croutons).

Tags: cannellini beans, rocket, vegetarian