Ask a Chef reveals the secrets of those superb dishes you ate in cafes and restaurants and wanted to try yourself.
Smokey chorizo beans
Ingredients
⅓ cup olive oil
100g dried white beans, soaked in water overnight
1 medium red onion, diced 1cm square
1 medium clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
¼ tsp smoked paprika
100g chorizo sausage, ends removed and sliced 1cm thick
1 can cherry tomatoes in juice
1 large red capsicum, roasted, peeled and deseeded, chopped
1 bay leaf
Method
Soak the beans in water overnight.
Drain, cover in fresh water, and bring to the boil. Skim off any foam, simmer till half cooked (the beans will be somewhat firm to the bite, and a little dry).
Drain and set aside.
In a medium-sized cast-iron pan with a lid, heat the olive oil.
Fry the garlic, onion, thyme and paprika till lightly coloured.
Add the chorizo, and gently cook out for a bit, till chorizo lets out a bit of its oil.
Add the capsicum and tomato, bring to a simmer.
Add the beans and the bay leaf, cover and cook in a hot oven (185degC) for about 45 minutes to an hour, or till the beans are tender.
We serve the beans with our barbecued belly pork but they are equally as good on their own or with a fried egg
Note: An alternative to dried beans is canned cannellini beans. You will need 1 cans, drained. Add them once the sauce has been cooking for 45 minutes and cook for 15 minutes.
Recipe requested by Vanda Symon, Dunedin
Recipe provided by Billy Allan at Balmac No7
• If you have enjoyed a dish in an Otago cafe or restaurant and would like the recipe, write to Ask a Chef, Features, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 181, Dunedin, fax 474-7422, or email odt.features@odt.co.nz , including your name, address and a daytime telephone number, and we will request it.
