French onion style baked beans

This is as much a final farewell to winter as it is in homage to the first skiing holiday I’ve ever been on, which just so happened to be last week. I love French food for its complexity and richness achieved through the use of minimal but flavourful, natural ingredients. Every ingredient in a dish seems to have a thoughtfully considered purpose and the French generally seem to have real appreciation for what they’re eating; rather than mindlessly munching on foods and not really caring about the skill in the growing, harvesting and cooking of them.

As I get older, I find that I’m wanting to become more knowledgeable about and appreciative of the journey from ground to plate and the focus on seasonal, quality ingredients in French cookery seems to be the perfect way to foster that.

Beef stock is a traditional component of French onion soup but as I don’t eat beef, I’ve added Worcestershire and soy sauce to my vegetable stock for an umami hit and extra depth. You could experiment with a little marmite or dark miso paste for a similar effect.

You could also opt for another variety of bean; cannellini just happen to be my favourite! The two non-negotiables for this dish are the onions and gruyere. Oh, and the mound of crusty bread served on the side for mopping up the beans, too.

To make enough baked beans for 2 people:

x2 500g cartons or cans of cooked cannellini beans (around 250g each when drained)

2 onions finely sliced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

300ml vegetable stock

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

1tsp soy sauce

1 large sprig fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

50g shaved gruyere (if you like things to be really cheesy, just add more)

1 French baguette

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200c (fan).

In a cast iron pan or ovenproof shallow pan, sautee the onions in a knob of butter and a touch of oil on a medium heat for around 10 minutes. Once golden and softened, add the garlic, bay leaf and thyme. Season the onions and continue to caramelise.

Add the soy and Worcestershire sauce to the stock and add a little to the onions if they are starting to catch a little on the pan.

Add the beans to the pan once the onions are sticky and starting to turn brown.

Add the stock and leave to bubble away on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Scatter over the gruyere and put in the oven for 10 minutes.

Serve alongside the baguette and sprinkle over extra thyme if you fancy.