Baked beans are probably my favourite food. And beans on toast is probably the best dish ever invented. But even though Heinz tell you beans are one of your five a day, there’s a hell of a lot of salt and sugar in there too. So I’ve invented a healthier, fancier option that you can whip out on those days when you fancy beans on toast but you can’t justify it by being ill or hungover (my regular excuses for a baked beans binge). Throw an egg into the mix and you’ve got yourself an extra bit of protein. Health kick!

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp dried Italian herb mix
• 1 tin plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 courgette
• 1/2 can cannellini beans or butter beans
• splash of red wine or balsamic vinegar
• pinch of sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
• 1 sprig of tarragon leaves (optional)
• 1 sprig of basil leaves
• 4 eggs
• as much toast as you like (use wholemeal or seeded to make it healthy)
• parsley to finish

Method

In a drizzle of olive oil, fry the garlic in a large frying pan on a low heat. Add the courgette and dried herbs and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes and wash out the tin with about half a can’s worth of water. Stir in the red wine/balsamic vinegar and bring to the boil. Add the pinch of sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Throw in the fresh herbs and simmer on a medium heat for 2 minutes, before putting the lid on and cooking for a further 5 minutes.

Add the cannellini/butter beans and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes, adding water if it starts to dry up at all. The courgette should be translucent by now.

Make four shallow wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each. Cook on a medium heat for 3 minutes before covering and cooking for a further 1-2, depending on how runny you like your eggs or until all the white around the yolk is cooked.

Whack your bread in the toaster!

Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and enjoy your guilt-free beans on toast.