White Bean Mash

01Ingredients

Drain and rinse cannellini beans if using tinned, or cook dried beans until very tender.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and rosemary, cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add beans to the pan and warm through, mashing roughly with a fork or potato masher.
Stir through lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Serve warm, drizzled with extra olive oil if desired.

Burning the garlic — it turns bitter fast in hot oil; keep the heat moderate and watch closely.
Mashing too smooth by hand — a rough, uneven mash is part of the texture; use a blender only if you specifically want it silky.
Adding lemon juice too early — stir it through at the end so the bright flavour doesn't cook off.

Fridge

Airtight container, up to 4 days.

Freezer

Freezes well for up to 3 months.

Reheating

Gently on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock to loosen.

Cannellini beans. Home-cooked beans mash to a creamier result than tinned, though tinned is a completely fine, faster option.

Olive oil. A good-quality oil matters here, since it carries much of the flavour in such a simple dish.

Rosemary. Fresh makes a noticeable difference over dried in a dish with so few ingredients.

Mash is too thick. Loosen with a splash of the bean liquid, water, or stock, stirred through gradually.
Mash tastes bland. Under-seasoned - taste and add more salt, lemon juice, or garlic to lift it.
Garlic has burnt. Turn the heat down and add the beans sooner next time to stop the garlic cooking further.
Mash is watery. Beans weren't drained well enough - drain and pat dry before adding to the pan.

Yes - great northern or navy beans both work well in place of cannellini beans.

This infuses the oil with flavour before the beans go in, giving a deeper result than adding raw garlic straight to the mash.

Yes - blend with a stick blender for a silkier, more uniform texture instead of a rough mash.

Yes - reheat gently with a splash of water or stock to loosen it back up, since it thickens quite a bit once cooled.