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.”
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).
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