Brothy Beans with Mushroom Garum: The Pot of Beans That Tastes Like It Simmered All Day
A great pot of beans is judged by its broth. The beans should be intact and creamy, but the liquid around them is the point: savory enough to drink from the bowl, glossy with olive oil, sharp at the edges. Traditionally that depth came from a ham hock or a piece of pancetta, and the bean itself supplied the rest. This version leaves the pork out and gets the depth from a bottle: a spoon of Noma Projects' Mushroom Garum, the fermented mushroom sauce from Copenhagen that tastes like the concentrated essence of a pan of browned mushrooms, stirred into the pot near the end.
We wrote about how to cook heirloom beans and about building flavor without meat; this is the specific pot those two guides lead to, with quantities, timing and the finishing moves that make it a meal rather than a side.
Why it works
Three things make a bean broth taste rich. Fat, which carries flavor and gives the liquid body: olive oil at the start and again at the end. Savory depth, the glutamate note that meat usually supplies: that is the garum's job, and a little goes far. Acid, which wakes everything up at the last moment: sherry vinegar, which our vinegar guide calls the best acid for beans, added off the heat. The beans themselves matter more than anything; fresh heirloom beans from this year's harvest cook evenly, hold their skins and make a broth that old supermarket beans cannot.
The pantry
A pound of fresh dried beans, creamy and medium-sized: cannellini, a Royal Corona or Ayocote for a big-bean pot, a pinto or cranberry bean for something earthier. Mushroom Garum, which exists for exactly this; our guide to using it has the other places it belongs. A fruity olive oil, a bay leaf, a dried chile, an onion and a head of garlic. Sherry vinegar to finish. Flaky salt for the bowl.
The recipe
Serves six as a main. About two and a half hours at sea level, mostly unattended; longer in Denver.
- 1 pound (450 g) dried heirloom beans, soaked overnight if you can, rinsed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 head of garlic, halved across the equator
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 dried chile, or a pinch of flakes
- About 8 cups water
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon Mushroom Garum, plus more to taste
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- Parsley or celery leaves, chopped, to finish
- In a heavy pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic halves cut side down and let them brown slowly, 6 to 8 minutes, without stirring. This is where the broth's first layer of flavor comes from.
- Add the beans, bay, chile and enough water to cover by two inches. Add a generous teaspoon of salt now; salting early seasons the beans through and, contrary to the old rule, does not toughen them.
- Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then lower to the barest simmer, a few bubbles breaking the surface. Partly cover. Cook, checking every half hour and topping up with hot water to keep the beans just submerged, until they are creamy all the way through. Fresh beans take 60 to 90 minutes after soaking; unsoaked or older beans take longer. Taste several; one tender bean is not a tender pot.
- When the beans are done, fish out the onion, garlic skins and bay. Squeeze the soft garlic back into the pot. Stir in the Mushroom Garum and simmer 5 minutes more. Taste. Add salt if it needs it, and a little more garum if the broth tastes thin; stop when it tastes deeply savory without tasting of mushrooms specifically.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in a teaspoon of sherry vinegar, taste, and add the second if the broth needs brightening.
- Ladle into warm bowls with plenty of broth. Finish each with a thread of raw olive oil, a pinch of flaky salt and the herbs.
At altitude
In Denver, water boils at about 202°F, and beans that take ninety minutes at sea level can take three hours. Soak them, use fresh beans, keep the pot topped up, and consider a pressure cooker, which does the job in 35 to 45 minutes at high pressure; add the garum and vinegar after releasing. Our altitude guide has the rest.
Four ways to eat the pot this week
Day one, as above, with grilled bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with oil. Day two, over toast with a fried egg and a few drops of hot sauce. Day three, thinned with stock into a soup with a handful of small pasta cooked in it, pasta e fagioli. Day four, drained, dressed with olive oil, lemon, parsley and a tin of oil-packed tuna or sardines flaked over, as a salad.
The beans, garum, olive oil, vinegar and salt are at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver, and ship nationwide from theambrosianpantry.com. The pot is yours.
