Käferbohnen, beetle beans, are the large, purple and black mottled runner beans of Styria, so called because someone once thought they looked like beetles and the name proved more durable than the comparison. They are a protected regional product, grown up poles in the fields around the Spielberg circuit, and their place in Styrian life is settled: dressed while warm in apple cider vinegar and onion, then finished with so much pumpkin seed oil that the whole bowl turns a deep, glossy green brown.

You will find it at every Buschenschank, the wine taverns where Styrian farmers serve their own wine with cold food, often next to the Brettljause board of cured meats. It is hearty, cheap, made in advance and better the next day, all of which are excellent qualities in race weekend food.

The beans

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) dried Styrian runner beans
• plenty cold water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Method

1. Put the beans in the large bowl and cover with at least 3 times their volume of cold water. Leave for 12 hours or overnight.
2. Drain and rinse the beans. Put them in the saucepan with the bay leaf and enough fresh cold water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a boil, boil hard for 10 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hours, adding the salt for the last 15 minutes. Top up with hot water if the beans poke out.
3. Drain in the colander and remove the bay leaf. Leave for 2 minutes to steam dry.

The dressing and salad

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) Styrian pumpkin seed oil
• 2 tablespoons chives
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish

Method

1. Put the chopped onion in the mixing bowl with the vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar and stir. Leave for 10 minutes; the vinegar softens the onion's raw bite.
2. Add the warm beans and fold gently with a large spoon, without crushing them. Leave for 20 minutes, folding once or twice.
3. Pour over the pumpkin seed oil and fold gently. Taste and add more salt or vinegar if needed. Stir in most of the chives and the horseradish if using.

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