Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash

A richly flavoured Mediterranean-style ragu with sundried tomatoes, olives and vegetables served with roughly mashed and creamy tahini butter beans. This vegan, gluten-free and healthy dish is packed with protein, comforting flavours and takes 20 minutes to make.

Gratitude is a wonderful thing and I try to always think of things I am grateful for in my life. working with brands, being gifted products and connecting with like-minded people are just a few perks of the job that I love. So, this meal idea was inspired and adapted from a similar recipe I was sent by Mindful Chef, a health-focused food box company. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing school friends and founders, Giles, Myles and Rob speak at food events before and their story is inspiring. They really are doing amazing things for the health and wellness sector while supporting incredible small farms across the UK. Although their food boxes do contain packaging and plastic, they offer systems whereby you can recycle and reuse them by returning insulator products – read more here.

Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash

Another reason I am really happy to support the company is that for every meal they sell, they donate a school meal to a child living in poverty – it’s truly a moving initiative.

As I said, it’s really amazing to connect with brands who are doing great things and making amazing recipes. So, when I was recently gifted a few meals, I decided to jazz them up a bit – inspired by my recent adventures with tahini!

I am a tahini addict, and I won’t try to hide that. After an incredible lunch event with Belazu to celebrate the launch of their tahini into a large supermarket chain, I came away even more addicted to the sesame seed spread. The whole story behind the manufacturing, sourcing and process is fascinating. We also did a comparison taste test with a leading brand and the results were shocking. This one really is my favourite. And add it into mashed butter beans and you have a creamy, dreamy and rich mash.

The Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu is quite simple and relies on really fresh and rich flavours from tomato passata for the umami, sundried tomatoes and olives for the Mediterranean vibes. A gentle simmer with some vegetables and that’s all there is to it. I can just tell this is going to be a new family favourite. Plus, it takes 20 minutes to come together in just 2 pans – minimal washing up.

Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash

Serve this Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash with fresh herbs (we had some homegrown oregano but I would also use basil) and lots of my pine nut parmesan.

A few notes:

• If you don’t have courgettes and mushrooms you could also use aubergine, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes…
• If you have fresh basil, use that instead or as well as the fresh oregano.
• You can switch the butterbeans for cannellini beans, too.
• The ragu is also delicious served over pasta, with mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes.

I hope you will enjoy my recipe for Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash, it’s simple and quick to make and really family-friendly. It is rich with umami and Mediterranean flavours while packing in 4 of your 5 a day (mushrooms, courgettes, tomato passata and spinach/beans). It is great to batch cook or meal prep and enjoy leftovers throughout the week, warmed back up. Plus, it is naturally vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free and delicious.

If you are looking for more easy dinner ideas, how about my Sticky Asian Aubergines with Coconut Rice and Curried Chickpeas, Chickpea Chilli with Guacamole or Sicilian Caponata with Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes.

Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash

• Servings: 2
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A richly flavoured Mediterranean-style ragu with sundried tomatoes, olives and vegetables served with roughly mashed and creamy tahini butter beans. This vegan, gluten-free and healthy dish is packed with protein, comforting flavours and takes 20 minutes to make.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 red onion, small dice
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 large or 2 small courgettes, sliced into ½ moons
• 8 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp fresh oregano, plus extra to serve
• 400g passata
• 80g sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 40g olives, halved
• 2 large handfuls spinach, chopped
• 1 tin butterbeans
• 1 tbsp tahini
• Salt and black pepper
• Vegan parmesan or pine nut parmesan
• Optional: 4 fresh chopped tomatoes

Directions

1. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the red onion and 1 crushed garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the courgette and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes until softening.
2. Add in the mixed herbs, fresh oregano and stir for a minute before adding in the passata, sundried tomatoes, olives and some salt and black pepper. Stir well, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce is thick.
3. Meanwhile, heat some more oil in a second frying pan, add the garlic and drained butter beans along with a splash of water. Sautee for 5 minutes until warmed through. Mash the beans with a fork, stir through the tahini, a little more water to make the beans creamy. Season with salt and black pepper.
4. Just before serving, stir the spinach through the ragu and allow the leaves to wilt.
5. Divide the bean mash between two plates, top with the ragu, some fresh oregano, a sprinkling of vegan or pine nut parmesan and some fresh tomatoes, if desired.

Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash

I can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe for Sundried Tomato and Olive Ragu with Tahini Butter Bean Mash. Please leave a comment below and tag me in your creations – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With ragu butter bean love x