Recipes
Boutique tasting board with bread, beans, greens and olive oil
A simple Mediterranean shared board with crusty bread, tender white beans, leafy greens, and good olive oil. Comforting and elegant, it’s built with ingredients that shine alongside each other.
On Crete, a proper shared table often starts with good bread, a bowl of beans, greens picked that day, and olive oil poured generously. This tasting board is a relaxed way to enjoy those essentials together: not a starter, not quite a meal, but a board everyone reaches for.
Ingredients
- 1 tin (400g) white beans (such as cannellini or butter beans), drained and rinsed
- 120 ml extra virgin olive oil (such as SPHERA), plus extra for drizzling
- 200 g mixed leafy greens (rocket, spinach, or chard)
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 250 g crusty country-style bread
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
- Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the drained beans, season with salt and pepper, and cook gently for 3–4 minutes until heated through.
- Remove from the heat and crush the beans lightly with a fork or the back of a spoon, mixing in half the remaining olive oil for creaminess.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the greens and cook for 1–2 minutes, just until wilted. Drain well and dress with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
- Toast the bread until golden. Rub each slice lightly with the cut side of the garlic clove while still hot.
- Arrange the beans, dressed greens, and bread on a large serving board or platter. Set out the lemon wedges. Drizzle generously with more olive oil before serving.
SPHERA tip: Try a mix of young rocket and wild greens in spring, or use tender spinach and chard throughout the year.