Smooth, creamy beans, extra-virgin olive oil, shellfish full of essential minerals to ward off the weather and a few fiery chillies to quicken the pulse – I can’t think of anything I’d rather eat in these grey days.

In Spain they put beans on a pedestal as the prince of ingredients. You can travel to any food market there and find bags of differently coloured, shaped and patterned dried beans that look like sweeties in a sweet shop. Many pensioners living on a pittance will supplement their incomes by growing these pulses in the summer, and harvesting, drying and selling them during the winter months.

Cooking beans is so easy: cover them with water at night and then, the next day, put them on to a slow simmer in fresh water with aromatic herbs and mirepoix (diced carrots, celery, and onions). I find it satisfying that they cost so little and yet are packed with protein and goodness.

There is a magic in these vegetables (remember Jack and his beanstalk?), slumbering within their dehydrated form. Of course, for a speedier supper, you can buy good-quality, cooked beans in tins or jars from supermarkets and delis.

Shellfish are best bought from a fishmonger, or online if you are short on time (go to timesonline.co.uk/realfood or www.mstevensandson.co.uk; they deliver fresh fish to your door).

If you can’t get hold of clams, cook the recipe (right) with mussels. By all means shell the clams before stirring them into the beans if you want to cook this for a dinner party, but I think it’s fun to scoop them out as you eat. Have plenty of napkins to hand and lots of crusty bread.

As for the other recipes, golden roast chicken pieces are also a great match with beans. Save every bone and scrap of the chicken for a stock to make the potato and thyme soup for the most comforting, velvety experience of the week.

Shopping List

1 free-range chicken, cut into eight pieces by your butcher (or 8 free-range thighs)
6 tins cannellini or butter beans (or 600g dried beans)
500g clams
4 tomatoes
¼ bottle dry white wine

And if you don’t have them already...

A bag of shallots, an onion, a head of garlic
2 lemons
½ bunch of thyme
A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley
600g floury potatoes
A bottle of extra-virgin olive oil

Storecupboard buy Bay leaves
Star buy A bag of small, dried chillies
Garlic clams with beans and wine

Equipment needed A large, a medium and a small pan. A chopping board, knife and a wooden spoon.

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes; cooking time: 20 minutes. Serves 6

Drain all the tins of beans and rinse in cold water (if you’re using dried beans they should have been soaked overnight). Finely chop three shallots and two cloves of garlic and sweat in two tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat. Add two bay leaves and three chopped tomatoes and cook for five minutes, season, then stir in the beans. Take out half the beans at this stage and reserve for the chicken recipe (right). Add two small, crumbled dried chillies and 100ml water to the remaining bean mixture. Gently heat through.

Chop another two shallots, two garlic cloves and a big bunch of parsley. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and warm the white wine in a small pan. When the oil is smoking hot, throw in the clams, shallots, garlic and parsley. Shake over heat with the lid on for about a minute and then pour in the hot wine. Cover and steam the clams until they open (about 3 mins).

To serve, pour the beans into a large, warmed serving bowl and add the clams and their juice. Stir, grind over a generous amount of black pepper, squeeze over the juice of a lemon and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Nutritionist’s verdict

This dish is bursting with nutrients, including protein, iron and bone-building calcium from the clams. They also give us zinc needed for strong immunity. The beans contain soluble fibre and will keep you feeling full for hours.

Second helpings 1.

Lemon and chilli roasted chicken with white bean purée

Crumble two dried chillies into a tablespoon of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper and rub into the chicken pieces. Put the chicken in a bowl and pour over the juice of a lemon and 150ml of extra-virgin olive oil. Marinate for at least 30 minutes before roasting in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. Rest the pieces for 10 minutes while you whiz up the pan juices with the rest of the cooked beans to make a smooth purée. Serve with crusty bread. (Save all the chicken bones to make a stock.)

2. Potato and thyme soup

Sweat a big chopped onion in two tablespoons of butter until translucent. Add 600g peeled, diced potatoes and the leaves of 10g of thyme and sweat until the potatoes turn translucent. Season well with salt and pepper, cover in 1.2 litres of chicken stock and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Blend to a fine purée and serve with a swirl of double cream or truffle oil and a few fresh thyme leaves scattered on top.

Look up Thomasina's storecupboard essentials and recipes at timesonline.co.uk/realfood

Plus find the best ingredients in your area. For more tips on reducing food waste, go to lovefoodhatewaste.com

Times Recommends

• How to season a wok
• Chicago Rib Shack hits back at its critics
• Gordon Ramsay: Indian barbecue