Baked white beans
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4 Servings
30 Minutes
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Inspiration
This summer, my fiancée’s Uncle Mel has been hard at work developing a copycat recipe for Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans, a local classic and family staple that’s been out of production since the beginning of the pandemic. Not to be outdone, I’ve been working on a version of my own to hold us down until the real thing is back in stock. My version includes garlic scapes and mushrooms for some plant-sweet bites and earthy undertones to shore up the melange of spices, syrups, and aromatics—it’s a deviation from tradition, but it’s all good so long as no one tells Mel!
- Steve
Ingredients
1 15.5oz can cannellini beans
½ medium white onion, diced
1 bunch garlic scapes, chopped into ½-inch pieces
2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced thinly
5 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
¼ tsp celery seed
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
extra-virgin olive oil
white vinegar
simple syrup (dissolve 1 cup demerara sugar in 1 cup water)
Method
To start, coat the bottom of a medium-sized skillet with olive oil, and heat on medium-high until it shimmers. Afterward, add the mushrooms and all the aromatics—the diced onion, chopped scapes, and sliced garlic cloves—into the mix.
Drain the beans of their liquid and add them to the pan once everything in there is nice and fragrant. You don’t need to cook for too long after this, just until the beans are heated through; at that point, switch off the heat.
Add the spices and stir to distribute, then it’s time to season. Everyone likes their beans differently, so I won’t give exact measurements for the simple syrup, white vinegar, or salt. But what I will say is start with a big pinch of the last and a capful of the second, then add your simple syrup a teaspoon at a time until the beans are a comfortable level of sweet, not too much or too little. At that point, you can adjust further with salt and vinegar—but be careful! Vinegar and salt tend to bring out, rather than mask, sweetness when added afterward, so focus on getting the simple syrup ratio right the first time. Then you can serve up your beans as a side to grilled meat or veg, or over rice for an easy but flavorful meal.