‘Zaytinya’ White Bean Stew (Piyaz)

Adapted from José Andrés’ Zaytinya cookbook, this light, herbal, vegan stew might just be the most exciting bean recipe we’ve ever come across. Andrés explains in his headnote that piyaz is traditionally a Turkish bean-and-onion salad, but that he has given it a Greek twist with the addition of dill and a Greek lemon-and-honey dressing called ladolemono.

READ: Eastern Mediterranean mezze get the José Andrés treatment in his wonderful new ‘Zaytinya’ cookbook

The recipe starts with dried beans, which you’ll soak for 8 hours or overnight, so plan accordingly. Andrés calls for Greek gigantes or large limas; we chose Royal Coronas — a favorite heirloom thick-skinned runner bean we buy from Rancho Gordo; they’re a perfect stand-in for gigantes, and easy to source. A Yukon gold potato is included in the water they’re cooked in, along with the more expected onion, and then removed and discarded; Andrés doesn’t tell us what the potato’s doing there, but it seems to add starch and therefore some body to the beans’ liquid, giving the finished stew a lovely texture. He doesn’t specify a size for the potato; we used a medium one, and that worked just fine.

For the Ladolemono — whose recipe appears on a separate page in Andrés’ cookbook — rather than have you make four times as much as you’ll need, we’ve scaled it down to make just what you’ll need for the bean stew, and incorporated it right into our adapted recipe.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

For soaking the beans

2 cups / 330 grams dried Greek gigantes, dried Royal Corona beans or large dried lima beans

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

For the Ladolemono

1/4 cup / 60 ml canola oil

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 tablespoons / 35 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 juicy lemon)

1/2 tablespoon honey

Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

A few grinds of black pepper

For the stew

1 small yellow onion, quartered

1 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and quartered

Salt

1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil

1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

3 large kale leaves, stemmed and roughly chopped

12 dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 nice-sized bunch fresh dill (about 1 ounce / 28 grams before stemming), chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Instructions

1. The day or night before you want to prepare the dish, rinse the beans, then put them in a pot with double the amount of water and the 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside to soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

2. While the beans are either soaking or cooking, make the Ladolemono: Put the canola oil and olive oil in a tall beaker meant to be used with an immersion blender, or in a small mixing bowl, along with the lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Blend it with an immersion blender or with a hand-held mixer on high speed, until the dressing is emulsified and creamy. Set aside (covered and refrigerated if overnight.)

3. Cook the beans: Without draining the soaking liquid, add the quartered onion and potato to the pot, then (if necessary), add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer. Cook the beans until they’re tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, occasionally skimming any foam that rises to the top. (Cooking time will depend on how old the beans are.) Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the potatoes and onions from the pot and discard them, then season the beans with salt to taste. (Start with 1/2 teaspoon, and go from there.) Set the beans aside to cool in their cooking liquid. You’ll want to reserve that cooking liquid; when they’re cool, drain the beans (reserving that liquid), put them in a bowl, then spoon a little of the liquid over the beans to keep them moist.

4. Rinse out and dry the bean pot, then add the canola oil and warm it over medium heat. Add the garlic and red onions and cook, stirring, until the onions are starting to lightly brown, about 7 minutes. Add the kale and sun-dried tomatoes and cook until the kale just starts to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add the beans and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to make the mixture slightly soupy, about 1/2 cup / 120 ml. Continue to cook until the kale and sun-dried tomatoes are soft, about 5 more minutes.

5. If the ladolemono has separated, blend it again to re-emulsify, then stir it into the bean mixture, along with half the chopped dill. Season to taste with salt, then stir in another tablespoon or two of the reserved cooking liquid to keep the mixture slightly soupy. (Note: the liquid is delicious and nutritious; you can drink any of it that’s leftover as a broth.)

6. To serve, divide the piyaz into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the remaining chopped dill.