If you’ve never roasted shallots before, this dish from Ella Mills (also known as Deliciously Ella) is about to transform your fall recipe roster.

Shallots are a type of vegetable in the allium family, closely related to onions, garlic, and leeks. They are characterized by their small, elongated bulbs that grow in clusters, similar to garlic cloves. Shallots have a more delicate, sweeter flavor than regular onions, with a hint of garlic, making them a highly versatile ingredient. They’re great for roasting due to their natural sweetness and mild flavor, which intensify when exposed to heat. As they roast, the sugars in shallots caramelize, creating a rich, sweet, and slightly tangy flavor that adds depth to your dish.

According to Mills, this is one of her favorite recipes from her cookbook Healthy Made Simple, and she describes is as like a “nourishing hug.”

Cozy roasted shallot and butter bean bowls

I imagine lots of people might skip past this recipe – roasted shallots don’t tend to carry the same appeal as veggies like sweet potatoes, but roasting them in their skins ensures they’re perfectly sweet and tender, so please trust me on this one, it’s a must and one of my favourite recipes in the book. It feels like one giant, very cosy, nourishing hug.

A bowl of roasted shallot and butter bean stew

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Duration30

Cook Time30

Servings

Ingredients

5 shallots, quartered lengthways, keeping the root intact and the skin on
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve (see tip below)
4 garlic cloves, skin on
1 tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
2 leeks, sliced
120 g green beans, trimmed
400 g tin of butter beans
2 large handfuls of baby spinach (about 100g), roughly chopped
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper
Sourdough toast, to serve (optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Toss the shallots with a tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place on a baking tray, cut-side down, add the garlic cloves and roast in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until soft and caramelised.
Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan or shallow casserole, over a medium–low heat. Add the thyme, chilli flakes (if using), leeks and a pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, until the leeks have softened but not coloured.
Next, add the green beans and the butter beans, along with the liquid from the tin. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 4–5 minutes, until most of the liquid has reduced. Stir in the spinach, and allow to wilt, then add the white wine vinegar and season to taste.
When the shallots are ready and cool enough to handle, peel their skins off and stir the flesh into the beans. Peel the garlic, gently mash it with a fork (it should be very tender) and stir it into the beans too.
To serve, divide the braised beans between serving bowls, top with a generous drizzle of olive oil, the lemon zest and plenty of pepper. This is delicious as it is or served with some sourdough toast.

You can swap the spinach for kale, cavolo nero or Swiss chard, and make sure to use a really good quality olive oil for the drizzle at the end, it makes all the difference.

DELICIOUSLY ELLA HEALTHY MADE SIMPLE by Ella Mills is published by Yellow Kite and is out now.

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The Author

Ella Mills

ELLA MILLS is an award-winning cookery author, entrepreneur and a champion of plant-based living. She started the popular recipe website, deliciouslyella.com, before releasing a #1 app and writing the fastest selling debut cookbook in the UK, Deliciously Ella, which was named Amazon's biggest-selling book in the year of publication and was a New York Times bestseller. She has since released a further five bestselling books and built a social media audience of approximately 4 million people. In 2015 Ella started working with her husband, Matthew Mills, and together they have launched over 100 plant-based food products into 10,000+ stores across the UK and globally, with customers including Tesco, Ocado, Morrisons, Waitrose, Holland and Barrett, Boots, Sainsburys and more. With a team of almost 50 people, they’re running one of the fastest growing food brands in the UK. They have also opened a London restaurant, Plants, dedicated to showing the breath of plant-based cooking. In 2017, Ella and Matthew won the Ernst & Young Rising Star Award at the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in London. They live in West London with their two daughters.

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