Crispy White Beans With Chili Oil

Serves: 5

Hosea Feil

1 January 1970

Based on User reviews:

63

Spice

47

Sweetness

61

Sourness

36

mins

Prep time (avg)

6

Difficulty

Ingredients:

3 cup

Buttermilk

1 cup

Chili Oil

Directions:

1

In a bowl, let the beans soak in the buttermilk for a few minutes, then drain in a sieve

2

Place the sieve over a bowl

3

Heat 3/4 cup olive oil and the chili oil in a 10-inch skillet over high heat

4

While the oil is heating, sprinkle the coating over the beans and shake in the sieve to coat the beans well

5

Repeat with the coating that falls into the bowl

6

Don't worry if they don't absorb all the coating

7

Carefully add the beans to the hot oil, spread them into an even layer, and cook without stirring until they are browned and crisp on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes

8

Turn with a spatula and brown on the other side, another 5 to 6 minutes, adjusting the heat so they don't burn

9

When they are evenly browned, add sliced garlic and brown for another 3 minutes

10

Season with salt and pepper, to taste

11

Add chiles to the pan, and continue to fry for another 15 seconds before adding the sage

12

With a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to paper towels to drain

13

Saute until the leaves turn crisp, about 1 minute

14

Top with lemon zest, then remove from the heat

15

Chef's Notes: The Arborio Rice Coating is by far the best coating I know for anything fried

16

It gives an especially crisp crust to fried fish fillets, squid, shrimp, eggplant and veal cutlets

17

You may as well make a lot because it keeps well in the freezer, and it's hard to grind less than 1 cup of rice in a blender

18

If you have a spice mill, you can halve the recipe

19

Arborio Rice Coating is one of the few places I use table salt

20

Sea salt and kosher salt are too heavy to stay evenly distributed in the coating

21

Bringing the beans up to a simmer slowly helps keep the skins from splitting

22

Arborio Rice Coating: 1 cup Arborio rice 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup semolina 2 tablespoons table salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Grind the rice in a blender until very fine

23

Put it in a bowl and add the all-purpose flour, semolina, salt and pepper

24

Toss until well blended

25

Store in a sealed container in the freezer for maximum freshness

26

Yield: about 5 cups