Turkish style Borlotti Beans with sauteed Fennel and Red Russian Kale

 3-4 Servings | Prep Time 20 min | Cook time 35 minutes

•  2½ cups fresh borlotti beans, podded (2½ cups podded weight)
• 2/4  extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
• 1 Fennel bulb, finely chopped
• 1 thinly sliced red Russian kale with hard stem removed
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 medium size tomatoes, or half a 15 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes and their juices
• 2 medium sized carrots, peeled and cut into 1 cm. cubes
• 1 medium size potato, peeled and cut into 1 cm. cubes (optional)
• 1 lemon, finely sliced, to garnish (optional)
• water
• salt and pepper

1. Cook the podded borlotti beans in lightly salted water for 5-6 minutes. Drain.
2. At the same time, heat a thick bottomed pot or pan over medium/low heat. Add the olive oil and fry the onion and fennel until soft, 8 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Fry for another minute or so, stirring constantly. The garlic should not color.
4. Add the tomato. Stir to mix well, then add the carrot, potato, beans, ¼ cup of water (or more, for a saucier version) and some salt and pepper. Mix well. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and leave to simmer, lid on, until the beans are completely soft, 20-30 minutes.
5. Mix in the thinly sliced kale 25 minutes into cooking, with the lid on it should stew with the rest of the food. The heat can be turned off and lid left on to cook the kale more if needed.
6. Take off the heat and leave to cool down to room temperature with the lid still on. Serve topped with fennel fronds from the fennel bulb and/or flat leaf parsley and some lemon juice, if you like.

Eat this on its own or serve with toasted bread or for breakfast with scrambled eggs.

If using canned beans, simply rinse and drain, then follow the instructions above, starting at step 2, and reducing the cooking time in step 4 if necessary.

You can also use other legumes, such as cannelini beans, butter beans or chickpeas.