White bean & herb cheese salad

This weeks recipe is a protein packed delicious and refreshing salad. I didn't really make with protein in mind, I just wanted to make something white & green to go with the wild garlic flowers that have filled our garden. I've also been getting some more free food week from Fruity Corners which is a a beautiful community garden in Lancaster where edible plants are grown and they're available for picking.

For the beans I felt I should soak and cook them from dried ~ I don't know why?? beacause they took hours to cook!  I usually use tinned beans which are maybe a bit soft but also, they're fine.  

For this recipe you will need to make your own cottage cheese! 

You will need:

A bunch of herbs ~ this is what I picked ~ Sea beet, Mint, Dill & Marjoram           FREE
140g    Dried Butter beans or Cannellini beans, or 1 & 1/2 tins                               83p
4 Spring onions                                                                                                  40p
1 Lemon, zested and juiced                                                                                  30p
1 ltr  Full fat milk ~ I used organic                                                                   £1.00
5 dsp double cream ~ not needed if you already have creamy topped milk               15p
1 tsp salt                                                                                                            3p
A spoon of olive oil                                                                                               3p
A piece of muslin or cheesecloth  (1mtr X 150cm makes 4)                                     75p

Total                                                                                                            £3.49

This makes enough for at least 4 portions.

First, in fact yesterday, soak the beans in cold water over night.

Then cook the beans in water for an hour and a half ~ or until edible. Or drain and rinse the tinned beans.  

At the same time put the milk on to stove.

I have read, that to cook cheese all your utensils must be very clean and I also read this only too late! 'Since cheese making involves an acidification of the milk the use of aluminum or cast iron utensils are not appropriate' Ooops. 

Heat the milk until it steams, but does not boil. Remove from the heat and add 1 tsp of lemon juice and slowly stir for a few minutes. Let it rest for an hour while the curds separate from the whey.

This didn't work for me first time, maybe it hadn't been hot enough? Maybe not enough lemon juice? Maybe the cast iron pan??  So I put it back on the stove and heated it up again and poured in the rest of the lemon juice which all worked and looked like this:

 

Place the cheesecloth over a big bowl  (I tied it with string.) Pour in the mixture and strain the curds from the whey, let them drain for 5 minutes.

Then rinse the curds by gathering the cheesecloth and holding it under a cold tap until they are completely cooled. Squeeze out all water to the get the curds as dry as you can.

Keep the whey!

You are left with about a litre of whey which can be added, instead of water to all your baking and more.   I'm going to make this here ciabatta bread which will go nicely with the salad.

 Place the cheese in a bowl and add the cream and salt to taste.

For the salad:

Chop your herbs, spring onions, sea beet and garlic flower stems.

Mix them all together in a bowl with the cooked & rinsed beans and then add the cheese.

Add some olive oil & carefully mix it all together.

Add salt and pepper, plate up and garnish with garlic flowers, lemon zest and olive oil.

Nice!