Greek-style baked beans are very easy to make: the oven will only need to be heated for a few minutes, but I assure you that this recipe for baked beans topped with feta cheese and honey is very easy to prepare, making it a very complete and tasty dish.
To prepare it, you will only need a cocotte , so it is also practical: you will not dirty the kitchen at all and you will have it ready in no time.
Like many other stews, it is a dish that tastes even better the next day, after giving the flavors time to settle, so you can make it the day before.
Le Creuset Evolution Low Casserole
Ingredients
- 600 g cooked white beans (300 g dry if you cook them at home)
- 2 cans of 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 200 g round green beans
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 large carrot
- 2 stalks of celery
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch of chili flakes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 200 ml of vegetable broth
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for dressing at the end)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp chopped oregano or thyme or a mixture of both
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, leaves only (without stems)
- 1/4 cup chopped mint, leaves only
For the feta and honey topping
- Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
- 170g feta cheese, cut into large pieces*
- A handful of chopped pistachios, pine nuts and walnuts
- 2 tbsp raw honey
*If you don't have feta cheese or if you prefer, you can use mascarpone or goat cheese instead of feta - they are softer cheeses that go wonderfully with the beans and tomato flavour of the recipe.
Elaboration
- Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery stalks. Remove the ends of the green beans and cut them into 3 pieces.
- In a Le Creuset low cast iron cocotte , heat the olive oil and add the onion, celery and carrot. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the garlic, spices and oregano or thyme (reserve a little for decoration) and cook for a few more minutes, stirring well so that the oil coats the ingredients and everything is distributed as it cooks.
- Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, and add the tomato paste. Sauté, stirring well, for another minute.
- Pour in the tomato and vegetable broth. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve a few teaspoons of mint and parsley for garnish. Add the remaining parsley, mint and bay leaves to the cocotte. and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered, to reduce and thicken the sauce. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Add another good pinch of salt and pepper to the cocotte. and add the cooked and drained green beans and white beans, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Stir well, cover the pan with the lid and place in the hot oven for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened nicely and the green beans are tender.
- Put the grill on high, remove the casserole from the oven and add the juice and zest of half a lemon, and taste to adjust the salt if necessary.
For the feta and honey topping
- Spread the feta cheese over the beans and place the cocotte back in the oven, on the top rack, for a further 5/8 minutes, so that the feta cheese browns under the grill.
- Sprinkle with the finely chopped walnuts, reserved mint and parsley and drizzle with honey to serve.
Le Creuset Evolution Low Casserole
Grades:
- If using dried beans, soak 300g dried beans overnight in plenty of water. Drain and rinse, then place in a large saucepan with plenty of water and bring to a gentle boil, skimming off any scum that rises. Cover and simmer for about 50 minutes until tender, then drain.
- When seasoning the sauce (point 5), you can first add a pinch of sugar, to kill the acidity of the tomato, before adding the salt and pepper.
