Exploring the elements that make a plate of food truly come into its own, Selin Kiazim’s new cookbook, ‘Three: Acid, Texture, Contrast’, celebrates exceptional dishes and their fundamental building blocks. Beginning with a guide to the basic foundations of a dish, the Oklava chef also outlines a selection of recipes divided by type of food, including aliums, beans, greens, pulses and grains, brassicas, fruit, nightshades and mushrooms, nuts, poultry and meat, seafood, and roots and tubers. This butter beans, paprika and Piquillo peppers recipe, for instance, is both bold with flavour and simple to prepare at home.
On the butter beans with paprika and Piquillo peppers recipe, Selin Kiazim of Oklava says: “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.”
Ideas & 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 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 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6 for 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
The following recipe is extracted from Three: Acid, Texture, Contrast – The Essential Foundations To Redefine Everyday Cooking by Selin Kiazim (Quadrille, £25).
Ingredients
- 3 red onions diced
- 125 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves finely sliced
- 1 Tbsp dried chilli flakes pul biber, preferably
- 1½ Tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp tomato purée
- 2 x 400g tins butter beans drained and rinsed
- 5 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- 300 g Piquillo peppers rinsed and sliced
- Sea salt flakes kosher salt
Instructions
- 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 purée 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 (kosher salt) to serve.
Notes
Related: How to Make: Chilli Roast Cauliflower with Pistachios, Red Onion & Parsley
