Book review: Bold Beans by Amelia Christie-Miller

Amelia Christie-Miller went from bean hater to the bean queen of the UK, providing recipes that pack a protein punch

Amelia Christie-Miller’s obsession with beans started with a fortuitous hangover. It prompted her – a self-professed “bean-hater” at the time – to reach for a jar of Judión beans at the back of her cupboard, which she had saved for a Nigel Slater recipe. A spoonful of “natural, creamy sumptuousness” was all it took for her to realise she had been wrong about beans all along.

Her debut cookbook, Bold Beans: Recipes to Get Your Pulse Racing, aims to recreate that magical moment, providing opportunities for this often misunderstood and commodified ingredient to take centre stage. “Chickpeas aren’t just for hummus; white beans aren’t just for a Tuscan bean stew,” she writes. Instead, there’s coronation chickpea sandwich, butter bean dauphinoise, black bean parmigiana and even a reinvented TikTok classic, the beans alla vodka.

These recipes are spread across six sections, including Speedy Beans for lunch breaks and Bean Feasts for dinner parties.

Bold Beans is a product of collaboration with 30 contributing chefs, including Thomasina Miers, founder of Wahaca, who offers the sweet and spicy squash with chickpea stew, and Ben Lippett of Mob Kitchen, who suggests clams with jamón, white beans and sherry. Their voices add conviction and variety to an already passionate book, strengthening the community spirit Christie-Miller is determined to instil.

Through the inclusion of a foreword from the executive director of SDG2 Advocacy Hub, who urges readers to partake in the ‘Beans is How’ campaign that aims to double the global consumption of beans by 2028, it is clear there is an element of culinary manifesto in Bold Beans.

By championing the versatility of beans, Christie-Miller demonstrates these ingredients should not be limited to vegetarians or vegans. She certainly provides several vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or dairy-free options, but she does this to ensure everyone has a chance to embrace these “satisfying marvels that can sneak into almost any flavour combination, offering texture and heartiness”.

Bold Beans: Recipes to Get Your Pulse Racing by Amelia Christie-Miller (Kyle Books, £22)