If you haven’t already met, please allow me to acquaint you with some friends of mine. Yes, it’s time you got to know these Posh Spicy Beans…
It’s been a while now since KD introduced me to these guys, made by Olives et al and available for sale here in Fallon & Byrne (rumours of whose descent into administration I hope are greatly exaggerated). This particular way with broad beans was a new one on me, though I have since discovered that roasted broad beans (and fried ones too) are popular as snacks in some Asian and Mediterranean jurisdictions. In any case, let me tell you now that these fancy little guys were (a) addictive (b) quite unlike other beans that I have had the pleasure of meeting (c) just the thing to accompany a cold beverage. I was very happy to make their acquaintance, even if they weren’t exactly that cheap.
Fast forward to my next visit to the Asia Market, where I came across dried split broad beans. I straight away got to wondering if I couldn’t recreate the glory of my posh spicy friends at home and for cheap. After a bit of foraging about on the internet and a few experiments in the lab kitchen later, I’m happy to report that I created that and more. I did, however, have to eat a lot of broad beans in the process, not to mention downing quite a few cold beers. All in the name of research you understand…
Basic Roasted Broad Beans
The Summary:
- Makes enough roasted broad beans for 3-4 people to nibble on while having a nice cold beer & takes approx. 6-8 hours of soaking time + 20 min to prep + 30 min to roast
You’ll need:
- 125g dried split broad beans
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 4 tsp olive oil
You’ll also need:
- One large cookie sheet or shallow baking tray – about 30cm x 40cm should do it – or use a couple of smaller trays.
The Steps:
- Soak the broad beans for 6-8 hours or overnight.
- When you’re ready to start cooking, preheat the oven to 180C.
- Drain the broad beans, rinse well, place in a saucepan and cover with about 5-600mls of cold water.
- Bring the broad beans to a boil over a medium-high heat and boil for about 7 minutes. This is just to soften them somewhat (so you should be able to pierce them with a fork, but they should not be remotely mushy). Without this step, I find the roasted broad beans to be just a bit too hard.
- Drain the broad beans and allow to cool a little.
- Mix the salt and olive oil and then toss the broad beans in this mixture.
- Spread the broad beans out on the baking tray and place in the oven to roast for about 25-30 minutes or until golden.
- Allow to cool on the tray and try not to eat too many of them before serving them to guests along with the beverage of their choice.
Bombay Beans
I was inspired by this recipe here to make this particular variation. Ajwain is a spice that’s somewhat like thyme but more pungent and with a real bite to it. It’s one of the characteristic flavourings used in bombay mix.
The Summary:
- As per the basic recipe, makes enough for 3-4 servings & takes approx. 6-8 hours of soaking time + 20 min to prep + 30 min to roast
You’ll need:
- 125g dried split broad beans
- 1 tsp ajwain seeds
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 4 tsp olive oil
The Steps:
- Follow the basic recipe for roasted broad beans above, but, for a bit of added bite, add 1 tsp of ajwain seeds to the salt and olive oil before coating the broad beans.
Posh Spicy Beans
This is my attempt at recreating the habas mojado pictured at the top of the post. The coating may not have adhered as well to the broad beans as the shop-bought version, but they were equally as addictive. They’re actually not overly spicy, so add more cayenne if you’d like a bigger chilli kick.
The Summary:
- Makes enough for 3-4 servings & takes approx. 6-8 hours of soaking time + 30 min to prep + 35 min to roast
You’ll need:
- 125g dried split broad beans
- 50g plain flour
- 0.25 tsp fine-grained salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 tblsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 25g coarse-grained brown sugar (I used unrefined demerara)
- couple of twists of freshly ground black pepper
The Steps:
- Soak, boil and drain the broad beans as per the basic recipe for roasted broad beans above.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Place the flour, salt and cayenne in a bowl and whisk together.
- Gradually whisk in the olive oil. The mixture will have the consistency of a thick paste.
- Stir in the crushed garlic, sugar and black pepper.
- Toss the broad beans well in this mixture and then spread them out on the cookie sheet or baking tray. As the mixture is very sticky, the beans will tend to clump together, so you’ll need to pick the clumps apart so that the beans are spread evenly. Also, don’t worry too much about the fact that some beans end up with more of the coating than others. I didn’t and the results still tasted good.
- Place the tray in the oven to roast the broad beans for about 35 minutes or so. The coating should have browned lightly.
- See how long it is before you can resist having one, and then another, and then another…
Thanks for the recipe! I made the posh spicy beans and they were delicious and so easy! Being from across the pond, I was too lazy to do the metric conversions, but I guess-timated and it worked out well. I seasoned to taste with Old Bay, chili paste, and garlic powder. Definitely going to remember this for my next party.
Delighted to hear it Sarah, and an excellent choice for some posh spicy party food!
Could I use frozen broad beans in your recipes? Thanks
Hi Rose – I’m afraid that frozen broad beans would be quite different to the dried beans I’ve used in the recipe here, so I wouldn’t expect them to work in the same way. I have to say that I have not tried roasting fresh beans so I’m not entirely sure how that would turn out.
Add some cumin to the roasting mix for exotic flavour!