Giant butter bean stew

• butter beans↗4 x 235g cans cans

  or 500g dried butter beans (cook according to pack instructions)

• Greek extra virgin olive oil↗100ml ml
• small red onions↗3

  finely sliced

• large carrots↗2

  finely sliced

• celery↗3

  stalks with leaves, finely chopped

• sundried tomatoes↗4

  sliced

• ripe tomatoes↗1kg kg

  skinned, deseeded and finely chopped

• garlic cloves↗4

  chopped

• paprika↗1 tsp tsp
• ground cinnamon↗1 tsp tsp
• tomato purée↗2 tbsp tbsp
• sugar↗1 tsp tsp
• flat-leaf parsley↗small pack

  finely chopped

• dill↗small pack

  finely chopped

• feta↗100g g

  (optional), crumbled

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Drain the canned beans, reserving 200ml of the liquid. Heat the oil in a large flameproof lidded casserole dish, and cook the onions, carrots and celery until tender and the onions are soft and transparent, but not coloured. Stir in the remaining ingredients, reserving half of the chopped herbs and feta (if using).

2. 2

   Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cook over a gentle heat for a further 5 mins, then pour over the reserved liquid. Cover the dish and bake in the oven for 40 mins. Check occasionally that the beans are not drying out – add a little more water if needed.

3. 3

   Remove the lid and bake for 10 mins more. Can be made 2 days ahead and reheated. Stir through the reserved chopped herbs, season to taste, then crumble over the remaining feta just before serving.