This spicy roasted red pepper sauce has all the Middle Eastern flavours of fragrant harissa paste. Creamy white beans are the perfect little flavour partners, but you can also use chickpeas or other legumes. Or try it with roasted cauliflower, pumpkin or charred broccolini.And the best of all? This delicious vegan dish uses mainly pantry ingredients. See the full blog post for serving suggestions, substitutions and leftover repurposing!
Servings4
Equipment
- Food processor Use a food processor or stick blender for a smooth roasted red pepper sauce. Alternatively, chop the ingredients by hand for a chunky sauce.
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder, or chilli flakes
- 7 ounces drained roasted red peppers, from 1 jar of roasted peppers – or see notes for fresh bell pepper instructions
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 lemon, zest and juice (1½ tablespoons, divided) separated
- 2 cans (14.5 oz) butter beans, drained
- 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)
To Serve
- 2 tablespoons almonds roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 small handful fresh dill, or other fresh green herbs like coriander parsley or mint leaves
Instructions
- Place a dry frying pan over low heat. Once the pan is hot, lightly toast the cumin, caraway and fennel seeds for 2 minutes. They will start to pop and smell fantastic. Set the toasted seeds aside.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan – don’t fret if you missed a few seeds in the pan – followed by the chopped red onion. Cook until the onion starts to darken (6 to 8 minutes) – stirring occasionally. Add half the sliced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder (or more to taste). Stir frequently and cook for another 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the chilli powder evenly coats the onions.
- Place the cooked onion mix in the bowl of a food processor with the toasted spices. Add the drained roasted red peppers, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and half a cup of water. Blitz it into a smooth sauce, about 1 minute.
- Return the red pepper sauce to the pan and place it back on medium-high heat. Stir through the butter beans (or other legumes) – breaking a few beans with the spatula as you go – and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce is thick and sticking to the beans.
- Meanwhile, whisk 2 tablespoons tahini with 2 tablespoons water, a pinch of salt, the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice (about ½ tablespoon). Whisk until you have a creamy, smooth and pourable sauce. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed.
- When the beans are almost ready, make the garlic and almond topping. Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan on medium heat for 1 minute. Add the remaining sliced garlic and chopped almonds. Cook for a few minutes – swirling the saucepan now and then – until the garlic is lightly golden. Take care not to let the garlic go too dark or it will be bitter. Carefully decant everything into a small heat-resistant bowl if the garlic turns darker than lightly golden, or simply remove the saucepan from the heat. Keep an eye on the garlic because it will continue to cook while in the hot oil.
- Stir a teaspoon of rose water through the cooked bean stew. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Spoon the beans into a shallow serving bowl. Drizzle it with the tahini sauce, pour over the garlic and almond oil, and scatter with dill fronds. Serve immediately.
Notes
- See the blog post for instructions on how to roast bell peppers.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop the red peppers finely with a knife. The sauce will be significantly chunkier.
- I love the flavour and gorgeous colour of Kashmiri chilli powder, but you can use whatever you have at home. Maybe try some smoked chilli flakes if you have them!
- This recipe uses cumin, caraway and fennel seeds. But you can easily use only one of the three. Or use harissa powder as a substitute for the chilli flakes and spices.
- How long it takes for the garlic to turn lightly golden will differ depending on your heat source and the thickness and size of your saucepan base. Keep a close eye on the garlic. Once it starts to sizzle, you only need about 30 seconds for the garlic to be lightly golden. If you remove the saucepan from the heat immediately, you can simply set it aside. But if the garlic goes past lightly golden, you need to decant everything into a heatproof bowl to cool down the oil and avoid burning the garlic.
- The roasted red pepper sauce is the star of the show. So the toppings are optional if you are short on time, but they do a lot to round out the dish. Lemony tahini sauce cools down the heat from the spicy red pepper sauce. Crispy garlic and almonds add a crunchy texture. And soft green herbs sing with freshness. Add whatever you have around the house for cooling creaminess, freshness and crunch. Let me know in the comments what you added!
- You can make the beans well ahead of time. It allows for the flavours to infuse. Store the butter beans with roasted red pepper sauce (without toppings) in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Gently reheat it in a saucepan before serving with fresh toppings.