(Vegetarian, vegan option)

I have two confessions to make about this recipe upfront: it’s stolen, and the beans are gratuitous. Oh, and it tastes like Christmas.

I lifted this recipe, almost wholesale, from the January 2008 issue of Gourmet Magazine. Except I threw in some beans so that I could use it on the blog.

I’ve been aching for tomatoes, garden fresh, full-bodied, truly ripe. Those can’t be found around here this time of year, but good quality canned tomatoes come pretty close in terms of flavor. This casserole offered me that, plus the chance to give the oven one last hurrah before it hibernates for the spring (okay, probably not, but as winter is winding down I find I’m baking less and less). I mixed fresh cherry tomatoes in with the canned to layer the flavor — I’m all about using both the fresh and the dried or, in this case, canned, versions of foods — but it’s certainly not necessary.

Though the beans were an apparently superfluous addition, they actually rounded out this dish and gave it a meaty texture. Frijol Colorado, a common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) obtained as seed from Native Seeds/SEARCH and actually grown in my own garden, was the bean du jour. Frijol is Spanish for phaseolus, which is Latin for bean. I had only a few of the beans remaining in a glass jar in my pantry, just enough to cook up and toss into this casserole.

I was surprised these guys produced in my Midwestern 6a hardiness zone climate. I haven’t had much success with desert-native beans, but they did just fine, though they were slow to mature. When cracked open the dried pods reveal a large, slightly flattened dark red kidney from the central and southern Sierra Tarahumara region in Chihuahua.

We interrupt the regularly scheduled program: Before we get to the recipe, let me put a request out there to my local (St. Louis) readers who garden. I need beans! That is, somewhere around the end of summer I’m going to be running out of heirlooms that I can buy commercially. If any of you can spare a spot in your own gardens for one variety – and are willing to donate them back to me when they’re ready for harvest — I’ll promise to use them to make up something tasty for you. If you can help with the bean project, contact me!

The Recipe
My brother Tim, who takes most of my food photos, says this dish tastes like Christmas. That would be the cloves and allspice, which add a subtle exoticism to what would otherwise be a casserole. These spices, combined with the thyme, give the dish an unexpected flavor profile that’s hard to pin down.

In addition to the beans, I added more spices than Gourmet called for, and less onions and butter. I also threw in a splash of red wine. It doesn’t leave a direct flavor, but as the alcohol cooks out it draws full flavor from the ingredients. Okay, so by this point I guess I didn’t really steal the recipe. Here’s a link to Gourmet’s version, if you want to compare.

And here’s my rendition:

Baked Tomatoes with Crusty Bread and Frijol Colorado

3 28-ounce cans of Italian diced tomatoes in juice
½ cup fresh cherry tomatoes, diced (optional)
1/3 cup red wine (don’t use something you wouldn’t drink)
1/2 stick unsalted butter (because I’m vegan right now I used margarine), divided
1 ½ small onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1 cup cooked Frijol Colorado (Colorado beans)
8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices good-quality whole-wheat bread

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Butter a 3-quart baking dish (about 13 by 9 by 2 inches).

Drain tomatoes, reserving 1 cup juice, then chop.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then cook onions with 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, allspice, and cloves and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Stir in canned and fresh (if using) tomatoes with reserved juice, red wine, thyme, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and briskly simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes (it thickened in about 12 minutes for me).

Meanwhile, melt remaining 1/2 stick butter and brush onto both sides of bread. Halve each slice.

Transfer tomato mixture to baking dish. Sprinkle beans across the top of the mixture and top with bread slices. Bake until bubbling and bread is crisp and golden-brown, about 20 minutes.

Tags: , baked tomatoes, frijol colorado

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.