Piperade-Style Beans

Thanks to school holidays and study leave, I've found myself at home a fair bit lately, which allowed me to come up with some more creative, yet healthy, lunches. Here, I was inspired by a piperade, a traditional Basque dish made by sautéing onions, tomatos and peppers, into which eggs are scrambled. It is commonly served as a side dish, and so to make it suitable for a light meal in it's own right, I added celery and butter beans. I then served steaming dish up with a slice of fresh Irish wheaten bread; a perfect hint of summer for a gloomy day.

Serves two
Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 small onion or shallot
• Clove of garlic, crushed
• Sprig of thyme
• 1/2 tsp espelette pepper, or chilli powder
• 1 pepper
• 2-3 sticks of celery
• 3 medium tomatoes, or a handful of cherry tomatoes
• Tin of butter, or bortoli beans, drained

Chop the onions, garlic and all vegetables.
Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add about a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic with the thyme for five minutes. Add pepper or chilli powder, and then the rest of the ingredients, save the beans, and cook with the lid on for a further 10 minutes, until soft.
Toss in the beans, allowing them to heat through for a minute. You could omit the beans and stir in a beaten egg for a proper piperade. Serve immediately.

Apologies for the poor quality photos; the piperade was so steamy!