COOKING FOR TWO: Spicy Chorizo “Baked” Beans on toast

Spicy Chorizo “Baked” Beans on toast
(For The Washington Post/Tom McCorkle)
Spicy Chorizo “Baked” Beans on toast (For The Washington Post/Tom McCorkle)


Some might say I have a bit of a garlic problem. Fortunately, my husband feels the same way I do, so if we're cooking together and a recipe calls for one or two cloves, you can bet we'll mince four, maybe five, for that dish.

As I leafed through "Flavor Kitchen" by Crystelle Pereira, I felt as if I'd found a kindred spirit.

Her Soy and Herb Roast Chicken gets five cloves, as do her Garbanzo Bean and Potato Curry and her Spicy Chorizo "Baked" Beans. I decided to try the beans because, like Pereira, I often find baked beans recipes too sweet. I love to grill in the spring and summer, so I was looking for a good bean recipe as a side for grilled chicken. I found it.

"It's a great brunch dish," said Pereira, who grew up in England, where beans are a common breakfast food. "I've had friends over for brunch so many times. When my friend came into the kitchen and said, 'Please, can I have more beans?' I said, 'OK this is going to be a recipe I'll make again and again.'"

First, she fries chopped Spanish-style (dried) chorizo until it is just crisp. The resulting spicy, smoky oils flavor the rest of the pantry-friendly ingredients, which include canned cannellini beans, pureed tomatoes, soy sauce, red wine vinegar and a touch of maple syrup.

She piles the beans on lightly toasted bread, which is how we ate them for dinner, with a salad. If she's really hungry, she'll add an egg.

Pereira, a finalist on "The Great British Baking Show" in 2021, describes herself as an "instinctive" cook.

She likes to experiment with flavor combinations until she gets a dish where she wants it.

The beans are a good example of that: "We buy loads of chorizo and keep it in the freezer, so I thought I'd add that to give it that smoky flavor. That chorizo goes well with paprika and then the maple for sweetness." Then she gives them a substantial kick with cayenne and chile flakes, resulting in a balance of spice and subtle sweetness.

"I just love things to be really punchy," she said, noting that the bold color photography in her cookbook reflects the vibrant flavor of her recipes.

Pereira, 28, was raised in North London to Kenya-born Portuguese Goan parents and has traveled extensively, so she has been exposed to lots of different foods. Her mother is a terrific cook, who not only let her help in the kitchen, but routinely had her taste ingredients and combinations to develop her palate, she said. In time, she realized she was ready to step up to the stove.

"One time, my mother was a little sick, so I offered to make her soup, and my mother said, 'You don't know how.' I said, 'I think I do.' I just made it without a recipe just because I've watched her so many times."

Many of her recipes -- 75 sweet and savory -- include an anecdote about how the flavor blends came together. That's because one of her goals in writing the cookbook was to encourage people to expand their pantry: Buy miso for one dish, then discover its many uses by adding it to recipes for banana bread, a caramel tart and a pasta dish.

"I want people to realize that these ingredients are so versatile," she said. "Add one tablespoon of harissa to pasta, and it is a completely new dish with very little effort. Add breadcrumbs to spaghetti for crunch, roast spices and nuts to bring out more flavor... People aren't adding a squeeze of lemon juice because it looks sort of cheffy, they are doing it to brighten a dish."

Spicy Chorizo "Baked" Beans

  • 4 ½ ounces diced dried (Spanish-style) chorizo sausage
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion, finely diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
  • ½ teaspoon ground red (cayenne) pepper
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup pureed canned tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
  • Lightly toasted crusty bread slices, for serving

In a large skillet over medium-low heat, combine the chorizo and oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage fat is rendered into the oil, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium or medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly crispy around the edges, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to a small dish, leaving the oil in the skillet.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the red onion to the oil and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cayenne pepper and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the beans and stir gently to warm through and coat them in the seasoning, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup and salt and stir well to combine. Taste, and season with more salt, if needed.

Simmer until slightly thickened and warmed through, about 3 minutes, then return the chorizo to the skillet, stir to combine, then remove from the heat.

Serve piled atop sliced, lightly toasted crusty bread.

Makes 2 to 3 servings.

  photo  "Flavor Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes with Creative Twists" by Crystelle Pereira (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette photo illustration/Kelly Brant)  


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