greek baked beans in tomato sauce

This cozy, vibrant dish is easy to put together and packed with layers of flavor from the rich tomato sauce to the zesty parsley oil. I stumbled across this recipe for Greek baked beans in tomato sauce a couple months ago from one of my favorite food blogs, Bojon Gourmet. Since then, I’ve been making them every week. This dish is perfect for a dinner party as you can prepare everything ahead of time. Serve the Greek baked beans alongside a light salad and crusty sourdough.

Lately I’ve been making focaccia out of this gluten-free sourdough to dip into the tomato sauce. I add a bit of olive oil to the top and fresh chopped rosemary. I like to add kalamata olives as suggested in the recipe below, but you can skip them if you wish. I’ve tried this dish with both feta and Kite Hill ricotta and both are delecious!

I saved time in this recipe by using organic canned cannenolli beans and organic jarred tomatoes. It’s important to get the highest quality ingredients available as the recipe is so simple. For the tomatoes, I recommend these or these or anything organic and preferably from Italy.

If you are planning to make this dish ahead of time, cook it for about 15 minutes and then cook the remining 10-15 minutes just before serving. Then add plenty of parsley oil for garnish. Please comment in the comment section below if you made the recipe!

Bon Appetit!

Tools

large steel skillet or saucepan

gratin dish, glass pyrex baking pan, or you an use the large skillet if it’s ovenproof

wooden spatula

garlic press

Sharp chef’s knife

cutting board

can opener

high-speed blender for food processor

oven mitts

Greek Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce

Vegan option, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 14-oz cans organic cannelloni beans, rinsed and strained
• high quality olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 28-oz canned or jarred diced tomatoes (about 3 cups)
• 1 tablespoon oregano, finely chopped or 1 heaping tsp dried
• optional 1/4 cup kalamata olives, drained and sliced lengthwise into quarters, or I like the Divina sliced olives
• 1 1/2 cups Kite Hill almond ricotta or fresh feta
For the Parsley Oil:
• leaves from 1 bunch flat Italian parsley
• zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
• Maldon sea salt to taste
• 1/4 cup high quality olive oil
• fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large skillet or saucepan, heat about two tablespoons of olive oil over medium high. Add the diced onion and cook for about 7-10 minutes or until it becomes soft and translucent.
2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, oregano, and a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Lower the heat and allow the sauce to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the it begins to thicken.
3. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cannelloni beans and optional olives until they are well coated in the sauce. Transfer the sauce into the gratin or Pyrex backing pan, or, if you are using a wide ovenproof skillet, you can leave the sauce in the pan. Break off chunks of the Kite Hill Ricotta or traditional feta, and press them down into the sauce so just the top of the feta chunks are peering through. Drizzle with a good amount of olives oil, sea salt and pepper to taste. Bake the beans until the sauce begins to stick to the sides and begins bubbling, about 25-30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, place the parsley leaves, lemon zest and juice, olive oil and sea salt to taste in a high-speed blender or food processor. Mix until the parsley oil is smooth; transfer it to a bowl.
5. When the beans are ready, remove them from the oven. Dollop with a generous amount of parsley oil and serve extra on the side. Accompany the dish with some crusty sourdough or focaccia.