For post-festive meals, turn to the larder and leftovers
I’m looking at the storage jars of parchment-hued beans – the oval cannellini and round haricot, the flat butter beans and, of course, the plump little chickpeas – and wondering if I will ever remember to soak them overnight. It is one of those jobs that I mean to do before bed – like soaking oats for bircher muesli – and then promptly forget. And once soaked, they are then to be watched carefully as they simmer with bay and peppercorns, celery and onion, lest they boil dry. I have ruined a pan or two with my forgetfulness.
I open a jar of ready-cooked chickpeas instead, tip them into a saucepan with a token leaf or two of bay and a few black peppercorns and boil them for 10 minutes. They are in the blender with olive oil and a little of their cooking water, fluffed to a smooth cream, in minutes, their unassuming beigeness lifted with vivid green olive oil and the juice of half a ripe lemon.