White Bean Purée with Onion

Rinse the white beans, cover with plenty of water and leave to soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Drain off the soaking water, cover the beans with fresh water and simmer over low heat for 1–2 hours, until the beans are completely soft; season with salt toward the end of cooking.

Drain the beans in a sieve, but reserve 100–150 ml of the hot cooking liquid to adjust the purée's thickness.

Transfer the hot beans to a blender, add the garlic, olive oil, salt and black pepper, and blend until smooth, adding the reserved liquid as needed to reach a creamy consistency.

Slice the onion into thin half-rings, heat the sunflower oil and sauté the onion over low heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden.

Add the tomato paste to the onion and cook for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sweet paprika so it doesn't burn.

Spread the bean purée on a plate, top with the paprika onion and serve warm or chilled.