I had the absolute pleasure of testing beans from Bold Bean Co and WOW, these are fantastic!! I had such good feedback from the previous cacio e pepe recipe I made with cannellini beans I soaked and cooked myself and I am so happy so many of you gave them a go, however - this slightly updated recipe with basil pesto (ish) , green asparagus and burnt lemon is definitely worth another go, and do make sure you try Bold Bean Co

1 x 660g butter beans

1 shallot, halved

1 bulb of garlic, halved

4 bay leaves

1 dried red chilli

1 tbsp black pepper corns

1 tbsp whole fennel seeds

4 sprigs of thyme

2-3 parmesan rinds

300ml vegetable or chicken stock

40g finely grated parmesan

I lemon, grilled

1 bunch of english asparagus

Prep a muslin bag or a piece of cheese cloth by simply adding the shallot, garlic bulb, bay leaves, thyme, pepper corns, fennel seeds and chilli and then tie it up. Add beans and the bean liquid to a medium sized saucepan, pour over the stock, add parmesan rinds and the little bag of spices. Let it all simmer on a low heat until reduced and quite thick and creamy, this will take about 20-30 minutes. Take care not to boil the beans as they will go mushy.

Grill the lemon.

Snap of the bottom of the asparagus and slice them lengthways, when only a few minutes of the beans remaining simply boil the asparagus in well salted water or stock for 2 minutes.

Just before serving add the parmesan and lemon zest and season if needed.

For the basil pesto

30g fresh basil leaves

1/2 lemon

a handful of almonds or any nuts you like

1 small garlic clove

40ml olive oil

salt and pepper

Bash up the almonds in a pestle and mortar, I like to keep the pesto quite coarse. Add the basil and garlic and continue to bash until a thick paste, season with lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir in the olive oil. Keep to one side.

To serve, plate up the beans first and top with dollops of pesto, place the asparagus on top and lemon halves on the side.