BUTTER BEANS IN SMOKED CASCABEL OIL

Cascabel chiles are, in our modest opinion, the best dried chiles that money can buy. Fruity, nutty, sweet, slightly smoky, and a little bit chocolatey, they check all the right boxes for us when we're trying to inject vegetables with layers of flavor. In our restaurant ROVI, they are used to flavor mussels or new potatoes and to make these beans, sprinkled with additional crushed coriander seeds, which are an antipasto served to customers as they sit down. Serve the beans as an appetizer or a snack, with some bread and aioli, or mix them with chopped herbs and arugula to make a salad. They are also a very welcome addition to herb and charred eggplant soup (page 42) and bkeila, potato, and butter bean stew (page 75). They will keep for up to 2 weeks in a jar in the fridge. The smoked cascabel oil is a wonderful recipe in its own right, and will keep for up to 1 month in a glass jar in the fridge, ready to be spooned over anything from eggs to pasta.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

For the oil: Place a large, nonstick frying pan on high heat and ventilate your kitchen. Once the pan is smoking, decrease the heat to medium-high. Place the cascabel chiles, garlic, jalapeños, lime peel, and lemon peel in the pan and cook until well blackened in places and very fragrant. This will take about 3 minutes for the citrus peels, 4 minutes for the garlic and cascabel chiles, and 9 minutes for the jalapeños; use metal tongs to remove them individually from the pan.

Step 2

Put all the charred ingredients into a medium saucepan; add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, lime juice, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt; and place on low heat. Cook gently until the oil begins to bubble a little, about 4 minutes, then remove from the heat. Use a pair of tongs or a potato masher to squeeze or crush all the charred ingredients into the oil to release their flavor.

Step 3

Stir the butter beans into the oil and set aside to cool. Transfer everything to a large jar if refrigerating, or a serving bowl if serving later that day. Allow to infuse for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight, before serving.