After creating a delicious recipe featuring our Northern Pasta Conchigliette (check that out here) we were lucky enough to sit down with Bold Bean legend and recipe curator Hannah Wilding of @hans.hungry fame, to chat all things Beanspo, seasonal veg and an exciting 2024...
Can you tell us a bit about what you do? heading up content for Bold Beans and creating delicious recipes for your 100k followers!
Hey! I’m Hannah, Content Manager for Bold Bean Co and creator behind @hans.hungry ! Monday - Friday you’ll find me living and breathing all things beans - and that’s not an exaggeration. As content manager for Bold Bean Co, I take charge of the creation and production of marketing content both online and off-line (in more fun words, trying to make beans cool, desirable and..viral!) - in delivering our mission of making people obsessed with beans.
One of the ways in which we do this is through beanspo (bean recipe inspiration!). Beans unfortunately have a pretty bad rep, so my job is to get people seeing them as desirable and delicious, through various forms of content creation from food photography, styling and copywriting.
Then the bits in between I’m, well, still usually cooking! But I’m probably dialing down on the beans and vamping up on the simple seasonal dishes, which I usually share on my personal instagram page @hans.hungry - a page which started in lockdown with a porridge bowl that, 3 years down the line, has got me into a professional career working in food.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Mainly Instagram, actually! I almost see it as one massive cookbook - my “saved’ feed is just full of different plates of food from food writers, stylists and creators I really admire. I work with the seasons as much as I can in my cooking, so picking out a handful of seasonal ingredients really helps to shape different dishes throughout the year. As a content creator, taking pictures of food in restaurants is almost a guilty habit, but this is also where recipe ideas spring to mind when I’m scrolling through my camera roll.
There's some delicious seasonal ingredients around at this time of year, any favourites?
The season for hearty veggies! Usually I’m just whizzing up whatever’s in season into a soup or stew during the colder months, then topping with cheesy croutons. I also love making a ribollita this time of year which is great for bunging in lots of cavolo nero or kale - it’s a real winter warmer.
What does a Friday night at home look like for you?
I’m really revealing myself here but I’m probably known as the “granny” within my friendship group. A Friday night will usually involve cooking “bowl food” - something quick but comforting you can curl up on the sofa and enjoy. Then winding down with a cup of herbal tea with something fun and lighthearted to watch on TV. Oh, and I’m a big book worm so I always have a read before bed too. (mental !!).
Do you have a nostalgic recipe which takes you right back to your childhood?
I feel like most people say this but my Mum really nails a roast dinner, along with all the other hearty home classics. But one dish I always “request” when going back home is this creamy chicken, leek and broccoli bake topped with a golden cheddar crumb, which we have with mini rosemary roast potatoes - it’s a firm favourite in our home growing up, so hearty + SO DELICIOUS.
My Dad will also probably feel left out if I don’t mention him (!) so his seafood paella really deserves a shoutout too. It’s one he tends to cook outside every summer in this ginormous paella pan when we go round to family friends house on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone tucks in with just a spoon and a bowl and it’s a real crowd pleaser.
Do you have a favourite Northern Pasta shape?
I think it has to be the casarecce - so good for clinging onto a sauce!
What are you looking forward to this year?
More cooking, more eating, more food food food! I’d also love to travel a bit more this year - even if it’s just taking weekend breaks in the UK, we’re lucky to have such beautiful places here! Team Bold Bean are heading to Madrid to work for a week in February which will be super fun.
Finally, any brands, places, individuals or podcasts you want to shout out?
Yumello’s salted date peanut butter is also a pantry staple (we’re talking 1kg tubs of nut butter glory) There’s also a bunch of food writers and creators who constantly inspire me who deserve a very big shoutout- Esther Clarke, Florence Blair, Sophie Wyburd, Kitty Coles, Xanthe Ross, just to name a few. And finally (shameless self-plug here!), if readers were keen to have an extra nosy to find out a little more about me, take a listen to my episode on Food for Friends podcast. There’s some juicy insider gossip in there which may surprise you!
