‘Beard Splasher’ Soup

A Murderous Tale of Cranberry Beans and Pasta

I always say that I don’t believe I’m a chef. I try to be a storyteller.

— José Andrés, chef, restaurateur, and founder of World Central Kitchen

I have always been attracted to whimsical recipe names and the stories that lay camouflaged within their ingredients. I’m talking about dishes like pets de nonne (literally nun’s farts), priest chokers (Strozzapreti), and the imam fainted (Imam bayildi). A dish is the intersection of provenance, history, and food.