Parmesan Braised Beans With Olives

Recipe from Hillary Sterling

Adapted by Eric Kim

Updated January 23, 2024

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
6½ hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
2 hours 20 minutes, plus at least 4 hours’ soaking
Rating
4(1,188)
Comments
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At the Manhattan restaurant Ci Siamo, the chef Hillary Sterling serves these dynamic beans topped with a tinsel of fried rosemary and sage, a shower of salty cheese, and a flourish of olive oil and black pepper. For a dish so luxe in flavor, it’s surprising how everyday its ingredients are. At the restaurant, Ms. Sterling uses at least four different types of beans (such as flageolet, scarlet runner, small white, tiger’s eye and Tarbais), but at home, any mix of white, brown and black that you prefer will be beyond delicious. With crusty bread and a glass of wine, these beans can be enjoyed as a meal on their own. —Eric Kim

Featured in: The Best Bowl of Beans I’ve Ever Had

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

FOR THE BEANS

  • 1 pound dried beans (any mix of white, brown and black beans), rinsed

  • 1 to 3 Parmesan rinds

  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs

  • 2 to 3 dried or fresh bay leaves

  • Salt

FOR SERVING

  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

  • 1 cup loosely packed fresh rosemary and sage leaves

  • Unsalted butter (optional), at room temperature

  • Oil-cured black olives, pitted (see Tip)

  • Coarsely grated Parmesan

  • Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Soak the beans in plenty of water so they have room to expand, at least 4 hours (and up to 12 hours) in the refrigerator.

  2. Step 2

    Drain and place the soaked beans in a large (5- to 8-quart) pot. Cover with at least 2 inches of water. Add the Parmesan rinds, thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 2 to 4 hours. You may have to add more water during the cooking process. The beans should be very tender and somewhat brothy. A few minutes before they are done, remove and discard the thyme sprigs, bay leaves and rinds, then crush some of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken the broth. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate. (The beans can stay up to 5 days in their liquid.)

  3. Step 3

    Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium. Add a single sage leaf to test the oil; when it sizzles immediately, you’re good to go. Fry the rosemary and sage leaves, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until crispy and muted green in color, 30 to 90 seconds. Transfer the fried herbs to a paper towel to drain.

  4. Step 4

    To serve, add ½ teaspoon butter, if using, and 4 olives to the bottom of each serving bowl. Ladle the beans into the bowls, then drizzle each with olive oil and top with cheese, pepper and fried herbs.

Tip

  • Oil-cured black olives, with their wrinkly dark skins, have a much deeper and muskier flavor than brined ones and are worth seeking out for their specific butteriness. You can find them in any specialty Italian grocery or deli, or at the cold deli bar of many supermarkets.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,188 user ratings
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Comments

WK

I've always been lukewarm on beans -- if they accompanied something, I'd eat them. Then I read about Rancho Gordo, and their beans. I don't know why they're so much better than plain old grocery store beans, but they are. I had been ordering them directly from their website but then I found them in a little local grocery store near me. Either way, worth seeking out.

Schlattastic

Try braising your soaked beans in the oven versus stovetop simmering. Comes out perfect, and doesn’t need monitoring. Simply rinse/drain 1lb soaked beans, place in a Dutch oven with your fave aromatics (yes, even garlic), nice dash of salt, and a good glug of olive oil. Cover with fresh water to 1/2 inch or so above beans. Bring to a simmer on stove top, then bake covered in a pre-heated 335° oven for 75 minutes. Seriously good method.

Cheap in Minnesota

All of the fresh herbs can get rather pricey, defeating the appeal of the inexpensive beans. Questions: 1. Could one substitute dried thyme, rosemary and sage during cooking and then top with something like crispy, frizzled shallots? Yes, I know, not the same recipe but definitely more affordable… 2. And please answer the Parmesan rind questions for those of us who don’t happen to have any sitting around in the fridge…

Freya

I made this wonderful bean dish with dried Scarlet runner beans, cannellini beans, and navy beans. I soaked all the beans for 16 hours in salted water on the counter. I added peeled cloves of garlic to the cooking water, as well as a dried hot pepper that I removed after 20 minutes just to provide a tiny bit of kick. After 3 1/2 hours cooking, adding additional water as necessary, I had a lovely brothy bean dish with great flavor. Do not skip the fried sage and rosemary! And add a little bit of their hot oil over the top of your beans. This is a delicious dish.

Kegan

At the risk of committing heresy, is there a suitable sub for olives here? I love cooking bean based dishes, but personally can't stand olives. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Steve

I made this in a slow cooker. About 4 hours at a mix of low and high (my slow cooker runs on the hot side). I would say high and my slow cooker is at a slow simmer, so I had to keep checking the beans. Put shards of Parmesan in there (didn’t have rinds) and added a couple of bay leaves and the thyme and it cooked beautifully. I used red beans I got at the Indian grocery store that had been around for awhile. I will also say that the herbs made the meal.

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Credits

Recipe from Hillary Sterling

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