Fasole bătută, a vegetarian recipe from Romania

Name: Fasole bătută
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Romania
Ingredients: 400 g dried white beans, soaked overnight; 3 onions, sliced; 5 garlic cloves; 120 ml sunflower oil; 2 tsp sweet paprika; 2 bay leaves; 2 tbsp white wine vinegar; Salt and black pepper; Flat-leaf parsley, to serve

Method

Drain the beans, cover with fresh water and the bay, and cook for 55 minutes without salt. They should crush between two fingers.
Meanwhile heat 60 ml of the oil and soften two of the onions over medium heat for 15 minutes. Set them aside.
Drain the beans, keeping 200 ml of the cooking water. Remove the bay leaves.
Mash the hot beans with the raw garlic, the softened onion and the rest of the oil. Add the reserved water until it reaches the texture of thick hummus.
Beat the purée with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes to lighten it. Season, then stir in the vinegar.
Fry the third onion until brown, cut the heat and stir the paprika into the hot oil.
Spread the purée in a shallow dish, pour over the red oil and scatter parsley on top. Serve warm or cold.

Paprika scorches in seconds and turns bitter. Always cut the heat before it meets the oil, then stir off the flame while the oil cools and takes on its colour.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the paprika added off the heat?

It burns within seconds in hot oil and turns sharply bitter, with no way back. Take the pan off the heat, stir it in, and keep stirring as the oil cools: that is when it takes on its red colour and aroma.

What does beating the purée mean, and is it essential?

Three minutes with a wooden spoon works in air and emulsifies the oil with the beans, making the spread light and pale. Skip it and you get a dense, heavy mash: this beating is what gives the dish its name.

Should the beans really be cooked without salt?

Not strictly: salt does not slow dried beans down, if anything it softens their skins. The recipe cooks them for fifty-five minutes unsalted so you can judge the seasoning once the purée is beaten. The vinegar only goes in then, because its acidity would slow the cooking.

Fasole bătută

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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