Print

White Bean and Ham Gratin

Prevent your screen from going dark

Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 30 minutes

In How to Cook Everything Fast, recipe directions are separated into “prep” and “cook.” Here, we’ve made that distinction with italics for prep-work and plain text for cooking. This reflects the most efficient order and timing of tasks.

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 8 ounces boneless ham steak or other thickly cut ham
  • 3 1/2 cups cooked or canned cannellini beans (two 15-ounce cans)
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 or 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried herbes de Provence
  • 1/4 cup white wine or water
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Turn the broiler to high; put the rack 6 inches from the heat. Put 1/4 cup olive oil in a large broiler-proof skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Trim, peel, halve, and slice the onion.
    Peel and mince 2 cloves garlic.
  3. Add the onion and garlic to the oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes.
  4. Chop the ham into bite-sized pieces.
    If you’re using canned beans, rinse and drain them.
    Grate the zest from the lemon; refrigerate the fruit for another use.
    If you’re using fresh tarragon, strip the leaves from 1 or 2 sprigs and chop.
  5. Stir in the ham, beans, tarragon or 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence, lemon zest, 1/4 cup white wine or water, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook and stir just until the liquid evaporates, about a minute.
  6. Spread the mixture evenly in the skillet, scatter the bread crumbs over the top, and drizzle with a little olive oil.
  7. Broil until the beans are hot and bubbling and the bread crumbs are crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Let sit for a minute or two, then serve.

— Recipe from How to Cook Everything Fast