Grilled carrots with sumac, chilli, lemon and bashed herby haricot beans

Grilled carrots with sumac, chilli, lemon and bashed herby haricot beans

Summer

I’ve always liked roasting carrots in a hot oven, caramelizing their sugary outsides and softening their middles. The high, dry heat intensifies their flavour and enhances their subtleties. It used to be my favourite way to cook them, until I cooked them like this, over a searing, smoky fire. I’ve actually discovered, through trial and error, that the carrots benefit from being boiled for a few minutes before you sit them down on the bars of the grill. It’s not absolutely essential, but it’s definitely worth the effort. The beans transform these sumac- and chilli-spiced roots into an entire meal, although the carrots alone would make an amazingly delicious accompaniment to anything and everything.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 x 400g (14oz) can of haricot beans, drained and rinsed
  • a small handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
  • finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • a bunch of long, thin carrots, trimmed
  • a good pinch of chilli flakes
  • 2 teaspoons sumac
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
  • flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Get a hot fire going. Set a heavy-based saucepan over the heat and add 1 tablespoon of the extra-virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, add the onion and the garlic and a little salt and pepper. Sizzle for 4–6 minutes, stirring regularly, then add the drained beans and enough water to just cover them. Simmer the beans for 8–10 minutes, and as they’re cooking crush them with a fork or a wooden spoon. Sprinkle in the parsley and season with plenty of salt and pepper and the lemon juice to taste (reserve the remaining juice). Keep the bashed beans warm.

Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to a boil and add the carrots. Cook them for 6–8 minutes or until they’re just tender. Drain the carrots, return them to the pan and toss them in the remaining extra-virgin olive oil, as well as the lemon zest, chilli flakes and sumac. Turn the carrots through the spices and zest, then lay them down on the grill over a hot part of the fire. Cook the carrots, turning regularly, until they begin to blister and char in places.

Divide the warm, bashed beans between two plates or bowls. Arrange the grilled carrots alongside. Sprinkle over the remaining lemon juice and trickle generously with extra-virgin olive oil. Season with flaky salt and pepper, then serve.

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