INGREDIENTS
400g dry white flat beans (Tetovac or butter beans)
1 head garlic, cut in half
1 onion, cut in half
4–5 bay leaves
1–2 dried chillies
2–3 smoked pork ribs
400g onion, sliced
2 tbsp stock powder (vegeta is the Balkan classic)
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp smoked paprika
80g light olive oil
1 kolbasi / kielbasa sausage per person
METHOD
1. Place the beans, garlic, onion, bay leaves and chillies into a large pot and cover with 2 litres of water. Allow to soak for 24 hours to soften the outer skin.
2. The next day, place the beans over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Boil the beans for 30 minutes to begin to soften before adding in the smoked pork ribs.
Continue to boil, for a further hour, or until they are fork tender you may need to top up the water during the cooking time.
3. Drain the beans, reserving 2–3 cups of the cooking liquid and the ribs. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
4. In a large pot, sauté the sliced onions in the olive oil until caramelised and golden brown. Add in the drained beans along with the smoked and sweet paprika.
Transfer to a baking dish and nestle the sausages and smoked ribs into the top of the dish. Cover the beans with the reserved cooking liquid along and cover the dish with a lid (or foil).
5. Bake the beans for 30 minutes with the lid on, remove the lid and bake for a further 15–20 minutes or until the top has browned.
6. Remove ribs as a side and serve with some crusty bread.
BEST WINE MATCH FOR TAVCHE GRAVCHE
Grenache and Grenache blends will really lift the pork in this dish as well as highlight the spice without rolling over the beans.