Aaah! That’s the sound of me + bliss as the cooler weather starts to bite. I thought the summer would never end. Most days are still sunny blue, but as soon as the sun disappears, the jumpers go on. OK and the ugg boots too. 
But in my defence, the louvres and fling-out windows at our place are so used to being open they’ve forgotten how to close. So it gets a little cool inside. But I love the cooler months in Brisbane… there aren’t many! It’s lovely respite from the heat and a novel little winter pretence – the only chance really to wear boots and tights, turn on the oven, and slurp slow-cooked things.
I picked up some voluptuous roma tomatoes at the farmers market the other week and was dreaming of a roasted tomato soup. Then I spied the remains of a packet of creamy lima beans in the cupboard (from that Piedmontese white bean soup) and modified tactics to create a sort of slow roasted tomato/baked bean stew thing. I didn’t twig until afterwards that I could have done this all in the oven. Next time!
I soaked the beans in the morning and cooked them that night. Dried lima beans will need a minimum of five hours soaking. Alternatively, use two cans of any white beans – butter or canellini would be great (and you could do a real lo-fi version of this on the stovetop in about ten minutes). If you wanted to do the beans and tomatoes all in the oven together, you could throw everything into a casserole dish, cover with water and cook for 40 minutes or until the beans are done. Vegans can omit the cheese.
1 cup dried lima beans (and 3 cups water for soaking)
6 large roma tomatoes, quartered
2 large brown onions, cut into wedges
5-6 cloves garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 dried bay leaf
2 sticks of celery, sliced
a handful of celery leaves
olive oil for splashing
sea salt and pepper
fresh parmesan to serve
Wake up, cover beans with water and soak until you’re ready to make dinner (or for at least five hours)!
Heat oven to 220 degrees celcius. Place quartered tomatoes, onions, garlic and rosemary in a roasting pan. Splash lightly with olive oil, sea salt and pepper and roast at 180-200 degrees for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse beans, removing any loose skins, and place in a pot with three cups of water, a bay leaf and a good pinch of sea salt. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer on low heat, part covered, for 40 minutes. Drain most of the cooking water off the beans, remove the bay leaf and add the tomato and onion. Slice and add the garlic, celery stalks and leaves to the pot and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Mash a few tomatoes and beans with the back of a spoon to thicken things up a tad. Check the taste, adjust seasoning as needed, and serve with shaved fresh parmesan and crusty bread.
Serves 2-3.
