Cook with Kirly-Sue

Welcome to this month’s edition of my food column – a space where plant-based creativity meets elegance, indulgence and irresistible flavour. Vegan cuisine has long since moved past the days of being thought of as bland or limiting. Today, it’s about bold taste, thoughtful presentation, and showing just how beautiful and delicious plant-based food can be.

And this month’s recipe is a perfect example of that.

We’re diving into the world of vegan fine dining with a dish that’s rich, refined and unapologetically indulgent: ‘Butter beans in a butter chicken-style sauce, beneath a puff pastry crown, surrounded by edible flowers’.

This dish takes inspiration from the familiar flavours of butter chicken – creamy, warmly spiced, and deeply comforting – and gives it a completely vegan twist. At the heart of it are tender butter beans, which soak up the luxurious tomato-coconut sauce, flavoured with garam masala, turmeric, cumin and smoked paprika.

Then comes the dramatic flair – a dome of golden, flaky puff pastry crowns the top, complementing all that fragrant goodness beneath. It’s hearty, warming and elegant all at once.

But what truly elevates this dish into a showstopping centrepiece is the finishing touch: a delicate scattering of edible flowers around the plate, adding a burst of colour, beauty, and a hint of floral aroma. It’s proof that vegan food can be both comforting and captivating – rustic in flavour, yet gourmet in execution.

Whether you’re planning a dinner party, celebrating a special occasion, or simply want to indulge in something extraordinary, this recipe brings a fine-dining experience straight to your kitchen – with no compromise on flavour, ethics or style.

Ready to impress? Let’s cook.

Butter beans in a rich, creamy butter chicken sauce
Butter beans in a butter chicken-style sauce, beneath a puff pastry cage, surrounded by edible flowers

INGREDIENTS
Butter beans
2 440g cans butter beans
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil

Sauce
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 red onion, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, smashed
1 thumb size of ginger, grated
Handful of cashews
400g chopped tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp paprika
4 tbsp vegan butter
1/2 cup coconut milk

METHOD
Heat some oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and fry for a minute. Then add the onions, garlic and ginger and fry until the onions are translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook down for five minutes. Remove from heat and transfer everything in the pan to a blender with 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth and set aside.

Melt the butter in the pan, then add all the spices and cook for a minute. Then, using a sieve, pour the blended sauce into the pan. Mix until the spices are well combined. Add the butter beans and salt to taste, and cook down tor 5-7 minutes.

PASTRY CAGE 
1 pack ready-made puff pastry 
Create an ovenproof dome using a greased and ovenproof bowl. 
Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch. 
Roll the lattice cutter over the pastry and cut to roughly the size of your bowl.
Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake in a medium oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Assemble the dish as illustrated in the photo.