French farmhouse cooking: lamb, beans, and nothing wasted

In the farmhouses of southern France, lamb and white beans have shared a pot for centuries, and the arrangement suits both parties. The forequarter chops give up their fat and gelatine to the braise; the cannellini beans drink every drop of it and turn creamy in a way plain beans never manage. There's wine and rosemary in there, a little tomato, and a finish of parsley and lemon zest to wake the whole thing up. It's a two-hour pot that asks for twenty minutes of actual work — the rest is the quiet confidence of a lid left alone.

2 hrs 20 mins 4 servings Prep 15 minsCook 2 hrs 5 minsMain CourseFrench

Ingredients

  • 4 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb forequarter chops
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 brown onion, finely diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 125ml dry white wine
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • Chopped parsley and lemon zest, to finish
  • Crusty bread, to serve

Instructions

Season the chops generously. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat and brown them well, about 3 minutes each side; set aside.

4 forequarter chops2 tbsp olive oil

Lower the heat to medium and cook the onion and carrot for 6 minutes until softening, then add the garlic for 1 minute and the tomato paste for 1 minute more, stirring it into the vegetables.

1 onion2 carrots3 cloves garlic2 tbsp tomato paste

Pour in the wine and let it bubble while you scrape the browned bits off the bottom.

125ml white wine

Add the stock, rosemary and bay leaves, return the chops and their juices, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 1 hour 15 minutes.

500ml chicken stock2 sprigs rosemary2 bay leaves

Add the beans and simmer partly covered for 25 to 30 minutes more, until the meat is leaving the bone and the beans have gone creamy in the braising liquid.

2 tins cannellini beans

Fish out the rosemary stems and bay leaves, season well, and finish with parsley and lemon zest. Serve in shallow bowls with crusty bread.

chopped parsleylemon zest

Appears in

In every lamb share — Forequarter Chops (4 pack)

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed lamb share — Pack B selection of pasture-raised lamb cuts, vacuum-sealed, NSW & ACT delivery
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The Beans Are Doing More Than Making Up Numbers

This is French farmhouse logic at its cleanest: pair a cut that gives with an ingredient that takes. The forequarter chop, cut from the lamb's working shoulder, releases fat, gelatine and bone-deep flavour as it braises — and cannellini beans happen to be the world's best sponge for exactly those things. By the end of the pot the beans taste more of lamb than the lamb does, in the nicest possible way. A hard, honest sear at the start matters more here than in most braises, because those browned edges are half the flavour the beans will absorb. Your Farmer® forequarter chops are grass-fed, four to the pack in every lamb share, and there's a spare four-pack of chops for the weeks this pot gets requested twice.

Swaps and Variations

Dried beans make the deluxe version: soak 300g of cannellini overnight, add them with the stock increased to 750ml, and extend the covered simmer to 2 hours. Butter beans bring a plusher, creamier result from the same tins. Thyme swaps for rosemary; a full 400g tin of crushed tomatoes instead of the paste makes it redder and heartier. Chump chops braise nearly as well if that's the pack you're holding, and a handful of chopped silverbeet in the last 10 minutes adds the green the French would insist on.

Storage and Leftovers

The beans keep drinking overnight, so leftovers come out of the fridge thick as cassoulet — loosen them with a splash of stock or water as they reheat gently. It keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge and freezes for up to 3 months. It's also a better dinner-party dish than it looks, because everything happens ahead of time and it only improves for the waiting. The leftover move: strip the meat from the bones, mash it roughly into the beans, and pile the lot onto grilled bread rubbed with garlic — a lunch worth planning for.

You'll find the forequarter pack in every one of our grass-fed beef and lamb boxes — braises like this are why it's the quiet favourite of the share.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use dried beans instead of tinned?

Yes — soak 300g of dried cannellini overnight, add them with the chops and increase the stock to 750ml, then extend the covered simmer to about 2 hours. Don't salt heavily until the beans are tender.

Why do the tinned beans go in so late?

Tinned beans are already cooked. Added at the start they'd collapse into mush; the final half hour is just long enough for them to soak up the braise and turn creamy while holding their shape.

Can I skip the wine?

Yes — use extra stock and add a squeeze of lemon at the end. The wine brings acidity more than anything, and lemon covers that base.

Can I cook it in the oven?

Yes — a covered casserole at 160C for the same times works beautifully, uncovered for the final half hour once the beans are in.

Which beans work if I can't find cannellini?

Butter beans are the best substitute — bigger and creamier. Great Northern or navy beans also work. Red kidney beans fight the dish; leave them for chilli.

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