Recipe: spiced cowboy beans by Joe Woodhouse

The Week Staff
·2 min read
A bowl of spice beans topped with yoghurt and herbs.
A bowl of spice beans topped with yoghurt and herbs.

This is less a recipe than a rough template for a dish, to be adapted as you see fit, said Joe Woodhouse. You can use whatever peas or beans you like, but my favourite are Bold Bean Co’s Queen Carlin Peas. Feel free also to play around with the spices. It’s a perfect dish for a Bonfire Night gathering, served with rice or other grains, or eaten as it is with some yoghurt and herbs on top.

What are Queen Carlin Peas?

While an Erasmus student in Spain, Amelia Christie-Miller had a "bean epiphany", and decided she wanted to help British people appreciate beans, said Katie Fraser in The Bookseller. So she launched Bold Bean Co, in 2021. Queen Carlin Peas, the company’s latest product, is also its first British-grown one. Small and brown, and quite similar to chickpeas, carlin peas are mainly grown in the North of England and are traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night.

Ingredients: serves 4, or 8 if served with rice or grains

  • 700g jarred Bold Bean Co Queen Carlin Peas

  • 3 tbsp olive oil

  • 2 onions, diced

  • 2 carrots, tops removed, diced

  • 2 peppers, stalks and most of the seeds removed, diced

  • 2 x 400g cans plum tomatoes

  • 1 tsp ground coriander

  • 1 tsp cumin, ground, or seeds, crushed

  • 1 tsp paprika, sweet or hot or a blend

  • sea salt flakes

To serve

  • natural yoghurt

  • a few handfuls of herbs

  • pickled chillies

Method

  • Add the oil to a pan over a medium heat, followed by the onions, carrots and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent.

  • Stir in the peppers and tomatoes and spices. Break up the tomatoes a little and bring to a simmer. Let it bubble away for 10 minutes.

  • Drain the cooked carlin peas and add to the sauce. Cook together for 5-10 minutes, check the seasoning and then either serve straight away or leave off the heat to let the flavours marry further, as they will improve with time. Serve with the yoghurt, herbs and pickled chillies alongside.

Recipe from "Your Daily Veg" by Joe Woodhouse, published by Kyle Books at £22. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £17.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.

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