Selin Kiazim’s recipe for butter beans, paprika and piquillo peppers
Simple, quick and bursting with flavour, you’ll find most of this dish’s ingredients in your store cupboard
I love this recipe and others of its kind because it’s simple, quick and bursting with flavour. You may be under the impression that we chefs either subsist on takeaway (when we aren’t working) or make elaborate and creative masterpieces at home every night of the week. Nothing could be less true. We are mere mortals, just like you, and we want to have as much flavour as we can in as little time as possible. This recipe is just that, especially as most of the ingredients will be in your store cupboard.
Serves 4
red onions 3, diced
extra virgin olive oil 125ml
garlic 4 cloves, finely sliced
dried chilli flakes 1 tbsp
(pul biber, preferably)
sweet smoked paprika 1½ tbsp
tomato puree 1 tbsp
butter beans 2 x 400g tins, drained and rinsed
sherry vinegar 5 tbsp
piquillo peppers 300g, rinsed and sliced
sea salt flakes
In a wide-based pan over a medium heat, caramelise the red onions in 75ml of the olive oil for 15 minutes or until they turn golden and soft. Add a little fine salt, the garlic and spices, and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook for another minute.
Add the butter beans and sherry vinegar and reduce the liquid by half over a medium heat. Turn the heat off. Add the piquillo peppers and the remaining olive oil and season with sea salt flakes to serve.
Ideas and inspirations
These beans are great in salads. Let the mix cool and then toss through a selection of salad leaves and herbs. Perk up the leaves with a little olive oil and vinegar, and some crispy lavash (flatbread) on top.
• Have a big bowl of the beans with a simple dollop of thick yoghurt and some crusty bread.
• Serve the beans on a bed of rice with some crispy fried eggs.
• Prepare the recipe and pour into a baking dish. Place fillets of white fish (such as hake or pollock) on top. Bake in a preheated oven, at 180C fan/gas mark 6 for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
From Three: Acid, Texture, Contrast by Selin Kiazim (Quadrille, £22)
