Celery and Butterbean Gratin.

The star of this dish is a versatile Mediterranean-style sauce …. using preserved lemons.

Gratin originated in French cuisine, and traditionally uses vegetables cooked in a cream sauce, and topped with crispy brown crust, which can be toasted under the grill.

A while ago I made a jar of preserved lemons, however, you can buy jars of preserved lemons in many supermarkets these days.

You could try a variety of vegetables using this sauce recipe, for example: potatoes with leeks, or asparagus and mushrooms.

I chose celery this time. You know …. Celery …. often found limp and languishing at the back of the salad drawer in the fridge. Forgotten, underused, and annoyingly stringy. 😦

So I thought I’d give celery a bit of a boost. It does, after all, apparently have all sorts of super health benefits ( try googling it for more info.).

Having chosen celery, I then thought that big, fat, melty butterbeans would make an excellent contrast for the celery… and it is without doubt a good combination. Definitely a keeper.

So, back to the sauce: this is my third try at a lemony gratin sauce, and now I think I’ve got it right, preserved lemons really are something to shout about! This would make a fab. sauce for pasta too. Preserved lemons have a beautifully soft lemon flavour, mellow and gentle …very different from using fresh lemons. Remember to remove the pulp and rinse the peel thoroughly.

Here’s my recipe to have a go at making preserved lemons yourself: (click image for link)

CELERY AND BUTTERBEAN GRATIN

depending on how hungry you are and what you’re serving with this dish…

it will make 2-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

450gms. pre-cooked butterbeans.
500 gms. celery : washed trimmed and de-stringed, and cut into thirds (see pics.).
Cook’s note: to remove the strings, trim the washed celery and then slide a sharp knife gently from top to bottom down the celery. The strings will start to come away. Repeat 2-3 times with each stick, particularly the outer sticks, which are tougher.
200 ml. water.
approx. 300 gms. courgette (zucchini) washed and finely sliced.
1-2 tbs. olive oil

Sauce:

3/4 of a preserved lemon: rinse thoroughly and remove pulp. (Reserve the last quarter for the topping).
3 large garlic cloves : peeled and roughly chopped.
8 gms. fresh thyme: roughly chopped.
2 tbs. chickpea flour.
1 tsp. salt.
0.5 tsp. ground black pepper.
250 ml. non-dairy single cream (I used oat cream).
200ml. non-dairy crème frâiche (I used oat crème frâiche). Non-dairy yogurt would be a perfectly good alternative.
Celery cooking water ( approx. 200 ml.).

Topping:

40 gms. almonds: coarsely ground.
5 tbs. nutritional yeast.
3 gms. fresh thyme: finely chopped.
1/4 preserved lemon peel: very finely sliced.

METHOD:

In a wide pan over a medium heat, sauté the courgettes in 1 – 2 tbs. of olive oil for a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Place the celery in a deep-sided pan with 200ml. water.
Bring to a simmer, cover with a good fitting lid, and simmer gently for 15 mins.
Remove the celery, and reserve the celery cooking water for the sauce.
In a blender, place all the sauce ingredients, and blend until smooth.

Construct the dish:

Gratin is traditionally cooked in a shallow ceramic dish.

My dish measures 22cm.x 22 cm. x 5 cm.

Lightly oil the dish, and then place the sautéed courgettes in the base of the dish.
Then add the butterbeans.
Then lay the poached celery evenly over the dish to cover the beans.
Pour the blended sauce carefully over the dish.
Scatter the coarse ground almonds and nutritional yeast over the top.
Then scatter the finely chopped fresh thyme and the sliced lemon peel.