Anyone in need of a a weekend activity other than online shopping? Well, beans are a wonderful labor of love! And these Tomato-Braised White Beans with Herbs, adapted from Despina Siahuli’s Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce, are more than worth the effort.
I received the original recipe in a newsletter from Mèlisses, where I stayed in Andros, Greece last summer. Despina is one of the host chefs for the property’s workshops, praised for her simple, seasonal food.
“The food I dream of when I think about my beloved Greece tends towards simplicity. Beans are perhaps the most typical of true peasant, humble food and this is one of my favourite ways to make them.”
– Despina Siahuli for Mèlisses
A word about dried beans. For years I stayed away from them, along with anything else that requires prepping a day in advance. That’s just not the way I usually cook. There is rarely a plan at all, let alone one that starts 24 hours out. These days, I find myself seeking out recipes with lengthier cooks just to delay happy hour pass the time, and I’ve learned that the rumors are true: Cooking dried beans is a game changer. The texture is firmer and the flavor is cleaner – more natural – than their canned counterparts. That said, beans are effing finicky! Cook times are fictional (if you can even find them) and after making the below from start to finish, I’d like to suggest the following timeline.
The night before, rinse and drain your beans. Leave them to soak them in cool water.
The day you will serve the beans, drain them from their soaking liquid and start the cooking process early on. Use a large, heavy pot, bay leaves and water. See more details below! The idea here is to have plenty of time for the beans to simmer, so they don’t lose their shape.
Finally, about an hour or so before serving, start the rest of the recipe.
And there you go – that’s a whole Saturday occupied! You’re welcome.
I used cassoulet beans here, but any white bean will work. Chickpeas would also be delicious. For serving, I love crumbled feta, Greek yogurt, fresh herbs and a good drizzle of olive oil with sides of warm pita, but the beans can certainly stand on their own as a stew. I stirred in a little fresh spinach the next day for lunch! They also make for a delicious base for meat, chicken or fish. Enjoy!
Makes 4 entrée servings, or 8 side servings.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
- 6 bay leaves, separated
- water
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large celery rib, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons each chopped fresh thyme, oregano and flat leaf parsley, separated
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
- olive oil
- salt & cracked black pepper
Serving Suggestion
- feta
- pita or crusty bread
- Greek yogurt
Method
First, cook the beans. Place them in a large heavy pot, and cover with about four inches of water. Add 4 bay leaves. NO SALT! When cooking beans, always salt them last. Otherwise they get tough. Simmer gently until slightly tender. You will cook them more with the rest of the ingredients, so they don’t need to be completely soft. When cooking dry beans, it’s ideal to have very little movement in the water, so this can be an extremely slow process – anywhere from 40 minutes, to two hours. I would suggest cooking the beans in the morning, so that you have plenty of time. If you are pressed for time, you can turn up the heat, but the beans might break and end up absorbing more water, resulting in mushier beans. They won’t taste bad! Just a texture thing.
Once the beans are ready, remove them from the heat, keeping them in their cooking liquid. Season with salt.
In another large pot, preheat olive oil (about three turns of the pan) over medium high heat. Fry the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt for about five minutes until soft. Then, add the garlic and about half of the chopped herbs. Cook an additional minute or two. Season with paprika and crushed red pepper to taste – just a pinch unless you like things spicy! Toast until fragrant – about a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook another minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add the tomato. Simmer everything together for about five minutes.
Next, add the beans and about two cups of their cooking liquid. Save the rest, in case your beans require more later. Stir everything together and simmer, uncovered for about 40 minutes until the beans are cooked through the most of the liquid evaporates. If you find that the liquid evaporates before the beans are finished, just add a little more of their cooking water. Before serving, add the remaining fresh herbs, reserving a generous pinch for garnish. Taste and season with salt if needed and cracked black pepper.
To plate, spoon the beans into your serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with fresh herbs. I served mine with crumbled feta, Greek yogurt and warm pita.
