butter beans in smoked cascabel oil

this is adapted from the recipe in the cookbook FLAVOR from yotam ottelenghi. if you like this, consider getting that cookbook or checking it out from the library to support the folks that created it. it doesn't have my commentary, though.

ingredients

• butter beans. I find 1 normal can has around 300 grams of beans once they are drained. (can swap for some other tender white bean. the instructions here assume you've gotten them canned, but you could easily make this from dry beans. just make sure you have the proportions right)
• dried cascabel chiles, around 2 for each can of beans (can swap for ancho chiles)
• a couple of garlic gloves, around 3 per can
• jalapeños (around 1 for each can of beans)
• 1 lime
• 1 lemon
• whole coriander seeds, around 1-2 tsp
• whole cumin seeds, around 1 tsp
• olive oil (around 200 ml or 3/4 cup for each can of beans)
• salt, around 1-2 tsp

instructions

it's probably easiest to start by lightly toasting your coriander and cumin seeds; set aside when toasted.

for the other prep: crush the garlic cloves with the side of a knife. shave strips of lime and lemon peel off your citrus using a peeler or knife (up to you how small you want to go – smaller means smaller Bits in your final oil which can be better texturally but they're also more likely to become too burnt during the charring step). slice your jalapeños lengthwise, either keeping or removing the seeds to your spice preference (i did not find that this recipe was particularly spicy but some of my family thought it was very spicy). break the cascabel chiles into pieces (again, smaller size is better texturally but can burn more easily). juice the lemon and lime to get around 1/2 tbsp of each per can of beans.

now, to char: put a nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron pan on high heat. make sure your kitchen is well ventilated!!! when the heat is smoking, turn the temperature down a bit. i like to char the ingredients in stages to avoid burning: the citrus peel will be very fast, the cascabel chiles similar, garlic a little longer, and the jalapenños much longer. i haven't gotten this down to an art or anything yet but i'd do the citrus and chiles first and then the garlic and jalapeños. remove the stuff from the pan as each item looks well blackened in parts, i.e. charred. set aside.

put everything but the beans into a saucepan (this includes the oil and everything you've prepped thus far) over low heat. when the oil starts bubbling a bit, turn off the heat – if you're making a smaller batch this can happen pretty quickly. use a fork or potato masher to mush all the bits up as much as possible (really get in there! this improves it a lot), tasting as you go to see if you need more salt or whatever. then, stir in the beans.

store in a jar in the fridge. the flavors will get better with time, and it can be stored up to a month or so. i like it on eggs or toast with a bit of greek yogurt, or just straight out of the jar.