Beans with Ham

Name: Beans with Ham and Onion (Fagioli alla Pancetta) Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: Italian cuisine
Ingredients: Beans (dry) 1 cup (170 g); Ham 150 g; Onion 1; Parsley 5-6 sprigs; Olive oil 3 tbsp; Ground coriander 1-2 pinches; Ground black pepper, salt to taste; Water for soaking and cooking

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1 h 20 mins

Today I decided to make beans with meat. Legumes of all kinds have been popular among ordinary people since ancient times. Hardly anyone can eat legumes without cooking: the seeds are dry and hard, and green pods taste no better than roadside burdock.

But in cooking, green pods turn into wonderful dishes, called lobio in the Caucasus. Boiled beans make excellent side dishes and standalone meals. Bean dishes are healthy and recommended for many diets. For example, bean soup without potatoes — it is simple to make and very tasty.

We know legumes best as beans, peas, broad beans, and others. Peas are, first of all, a delicious pea soup with smoked ribs. Everything seems clear there. Broad beans are not used much here. But beans are the most important legume for us.

I remember that my grandmother in the village didn’t even plant them on purpose. She simply scattered bean seeds around the garden, and they grew on their own, took up no space, and still gave a good harvest. A whole sack, at least! Besides, beans are very decorative and bloom beautifully.

The best-known bean comes from America and is called the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).

There are plenty of bean dishes in every cuisine of the world. Mexican cuisine, for example, is simply unthinkable without beans. Beans make dishes more filling and also absorb the various aromas typical of Mexican food. True, in Mexico red beans and black beans are preferred. Traditional refried beans (frijoles refritos) are a staple of Mexican everyday eating. Beans of different kinds are soaked, boiled until done, and mashed the way boiled potatoes are mashed for mashed potatoes.

In Mediterranean cuisine, beans, both green and dry, are among the most used ingredients. Cooks happily use them. Beans are often added to risotto, mixed with pasta, or simply cooked with meat, pancetta, and sauces. And even just stewed beans or beans with sausage are very popular. Let’s make plain white beans with ham, a great choice for a hearty lunch.

Ingredients

2 servings

Beans (dry) 1 cup (170 g)
Ham 150 g
Onion 1
Parsley 5-6 sprigs
Olive oil 3 tbsp
Ground coriander 1-2 pinches
Ground black pepper, salt to taste
Water for soaking and cooking

Step-by-step recipe

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How to prepare and cook the beans

For this dish you need ordinary beans, but white ones are best. You can use speckled or colored beans, but they turn colored when cooked. White beans are also much easier to find. You can technically cook dry beans without soaking, but you shouldn’t try. It takes forever and is a hassle. Many people advise adding a little baking soda to the water. Don’t: beans with a soda aftertaste are not edible.

Pick over the beans, looking especially for bugs. You can spot them by small round marks under the skin of the beans. It’s best to throw those beans away.

Soak the beans in cold water for a few hours, ideally overnight: put the sorted beans in a container, cover with water, and put in the fridge. Then they will cook quickly and evenly.
Cook the beans. In the morning, drain the water, cover the beans with plenty of cold water, and cook over low heat until the beans are soft. If the beans soaked well, cooking takes less than an hour, usually 30-40 mins.
Pour a cup of the cooking liquid (200 ml) into a separate container and discard the rest. Transfer the cooked beans to a bowl and set aside.

How to fry the onion with the ham

Fry the onion. Peel the onion and cut it into large cubes. In a deep frying pan with a lid, fry the onion in 3 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat until soft, but don’t overcook it, or the beans will taste burnt.

Add the diced ham and fry with the onion until browned. Strictly speaking, beans are even better cooked with lightly smoked meat and a little bit of fat. Add salt and pepper and 1-2 pinches of ground coriander.
Keep frying the onion and ham until you smell fried smoked meat.

How to stew the beans

Add the cooked beans to the onion and ham.
Mix well and add 100-150 ml of the liquid left from cooking the beans.
Stew the beans covered over medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed or evaporated, usually up to 15 mins. A few minutes before they are done, add finely chopped parsley.

Serving

Serve the beans hot.

Calories and macros

615 kcal

Serving ≈ 330 g

Protein33 g25% of kcal
Fat28 g48% of kcal
Carbs36 g27% of kcal

100 g186 kcalProtein 10.1 gFat 8.5 gCarbs 10.8 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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