Breakfast of champions - A twist on your classic beans on toast

Beans on toast is a perennial and purse-friendly breakfast, packed with all the nutrients you need to fuel both busy days and slow mornings. As an ingredient, beans are incredibly versatile and are the perfect delivery vehicle for any flavour profile your heart desires! For this particular recipe, I’ve opted for kimchi beans – packed with flavour, they offer a blend of sweet, spicy and umami. 

Kimchi beans on sourdough with jammy boiled eggs and sesame seeds

Serves 3

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large white onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp soy sauce/tamari
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tins (approx 700g) of cooked cannellini beans
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 250g kimchi, roughly chopped (as well as some kimchi juice from the jar)
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sourdough bread
• 3 eggs

To serve:

• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds 

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the diced onion, frying for 5-7 minutes on medium heat until the onions turn translucent. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add the tomato puree to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the soy sauce, maple syrup and smoked paprika. Give it all a good mix.
3. Add the beans and the gochujang to the pan, stirring thoroughly before adding the chopped tomatoes, kimchi and kimchi juice.
4. Cook for 10 minutes on medium-low heat until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. For the perfect soft-boiled egg, fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the eggs (room temperature) into the pan using a spoon – using room temperature eggs means they’ll be less likely to crack!
6. Set your timer for 6-7 minutes. Remove the eggs and transfer to a bowl of cold water.
7. Toast your bread. When the eggs are cool enough to touch, peel and slice in half.
8. Serve the beans on the toasted sourdough and top with a hard-boiled egg, spring onions and sesame seeds.

The healthy bit

Beans not only boast an impressive profile of B vitamins, iron and folate – which are crucial for the transportation of oxygen around the body and energy production – but they’re also a brilliant source of fibre and plant-based protein. Including more beans in your diet may also help reduce cholesterol, decrease blood sugar levels and increase the amount and diversity of beneficial bacteria in the gut, important for maintaining overall health. 

Kimchi is a traditional Korean food made by fermenting vegetables. This fermentation produces lactic acid, which helps grow specific strains of live bacteria that can help populate our friendly gut bacteria. This aids in regulating immune function, promoting healthy digestion and can even help improve mood and our response to stressors!

Studies have shown that the consumption of eggs raises the levels of HDL – often dubbed the ‘good cholesterol’ as it carries excess cholesterol to the liver and is removed from the body. 

Eggs are packed with vitamin A, folate, vitamins B2, B5, B12, vitamin D, E and selenium, all needed for energy production, proper immune function and prevention of cell damage. They’re also an excellent source of choline – a nutrient crucial for building cell membranes and helping to produce signalling molecules in the brain, impacting memory, muscle function and mood. 

When available, try to opt for sourdough. To make sourdough, a ‘starter’ is used – a culture of yeasts and beneficial bacteria that naturally ferment before being mixed with flour to make the loaf. Although a lot of this beneficial bacteria is lost during the baking process, the fibre, minerals and polyphenols become more bioavailable. This is because a naturally occurring compound found in grains called phytic acid gets broken down, meaning we can absorb and utilise the beneficial nutrients more efficiently. 

The combination of fibre and protein from the beans, the protein and fat from the eggs and the complex carbs from the sourdough will ensure your blood sugar levels remain balanced and that you feel energised, satiated and ready to take on the day!

This article was published in Happiful Magazine (Issue 86). You can order print copies online, or read the e-magazine for free on the Happiful app. 

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