Bean Tansy is a traditional British recipe, based on Robert Kemp Philp's recipe of 1859, for a classic snack or accompaniment of bean paste mixed with egg yolks, butter, cream and white wine that's thickened with Naples biscuits and flavoured with tansy before being oven baked and served. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Bean Tansy.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Bean Tansy that's derived from Robert Kemp Philp's 1859 volume, The Dictionary of Daily Wants. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
BEAN TANSY.—Take two quarts of beans, blanch and beat them very fine in a mortar; season with pepper, salt and mace; then put in the yolks of six eggs, a quarter of a pound of butter, a pint of cream, half a pint of white wine, and sugar to taste. Soak four Naples biscuits in half a pint of milk, mix with the other ingredients; add two or three sprigs of tansy, and beat all well together. Pour into a buttered pan; bake it till of a lightly brown colour, turn on to a dish, and garnish with lemon and orange peel.
Beans, 2 quarts; seasoning, sufficient; eggs, 6 yolks; butter, 1/4lb.; cream, 1 pint; white wine, 1/2 pint; sugar, to taste; Naples biscuits, 4; milk, 1/2 pint; tansy-sprigs, 2 or 3.
Modern Redaction
Tansies are herbed omelettes, originally so named because of the herb, tansy, used in them during the 15th Century. These days the term tends to be used for a fruit and egg based dessert.
Ingredients:
2l white kidney beans
6 egg yolks
115g butter
600ml cream
300ml white wine
sugar, to taste
4 Naples biscuits
300ml milk
2 sprigs of tansy
ground mace, to taste
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the beans and cook for 3 minutes to blanch. Rub off the skins then beat the beans to fine paste in a mortar. Season to taste with salt, black pepper and mace then mix in the egg yolks. Turn into a bowl then beat in the butter, 600ml cream, and 300ml white wine and add sugar to taste.
In the meantime, soak four Naples biscuits in 300ml milk until soft then beat with the other ingredients. Add the tansy then pour the mixture into a buttered pan and transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until set and lightly brown then turn into a dish, garnish with citrus peel and serve.
Beans, 2 quarts; seasoning, sufficient; eggs, 6 yolks; butter, 1/4lb.; cream, 1 pint; white wine, 1/2 pint; sugar, to taste; Naples biscuits, 4; milk, 1/2 pint; tansy-sprigs, 2 or 3.