Pizza Beans on Toast are a Comfort Food When You Need It Quickly

Before the recent presidential election, before the coronavirus pandemic, before TikTok, before the long fight for marriage equality was won – join me as I go back to the fall of 2014. That’s when That’s when Deb Perelman, the creator and recipe editor behind Smitten Kitchen, one of the coolest places on the Internet, brought a casserole of baked beans topped with a blanket of melted cheese to a potluck.

“Most of us know the number one rule of cooking for a crowd: Don’t do anything new or scary,” Perelman wrote in his second cookbook, “Smitten Kitchen Every Day,” emphasizing that getting started in a labor-intensive kitchen and then serving it or a complex dish like a crown roast or soufflé could “send you into a mood-ruining state of mind.”

For several reasons, but mostly because it was what she “felt like cooking that day,” Perelman broke that rule by preparing a dish inspired by Greek plaki gigantes, or large white beans cooked in a sauce tomato seasoned with garlic and herbs. and hot spices.

She imagined “a mix of a dish of giant beans in Greek tomato sauce and American-style baked ziti, with beans instead of noodles.” (Longtime Smitten Kitchen fans will agree: Perelman is a genius.) The “Tomato-Braised Jumbo Bean Gratin” was a mouthful, but it was precise and, more importantly, tasted great.

But when Perelman tried to get his then-kindergarten son to try the product, there was, let’s say, some resistance. “I don’t like beans,” he declared, unmoved by his mother’s pleas. “You’re going to love this.” “You should try them!” You will see! — until she realized it wasn’t the dish, it was the marketing. “It’s got tomato sauce,” she said, “and look at all that cheese on it… It’s like pizza.” And that’s how Pizza Beans was born.

I clicked on smittenkitchen.com on September 26, 2017 and read the title of that day’s blog post: “pizza beans.” Simple, evocative, instantly appealing. I made the saucy and cheesy beans that evening and ate them for the next few days. Like many recipes I’ve found on Smitten Kitchen, this is a recipe I’ve made many, many times. Almost every time, I modified the original recipe, swapping the ingredients; experiment with different seasonings and sauce bases, a variety of cheeses, and other types of beans; and adding chicken sausage or crispy bacon pieces, mushrooms and bell pepper, pepperoni or anchovies.

When I recently contacted Perelman by phone, she told me that she doesn’t make Pizza Beans as often as she used to. “Unfortunately, I’ve since had another child and she’s lukewarm on beans,” she explained. But then, after thinking about it for a minute, she realized that she had been making a rendition of this recipe for years. “I made baked black beans with a salsa base. I made French Onion Baked Lentils and Farro. I made braised chickpeas with zucchini and pesto with dollops of burrata or ricotta on top,” Perelman said, noting that she sometimes creates new dishes by simply swapping ingredients from her favorite formulas. “There are lots of fun ways to manipulate ingredients. I love doing this. She also gave me her blessing. “I’m thrilled that people like it enough to play with it, have fun with it.”

The original recipe can be made in less than an hour – if you’ve never made it, do it – but I’m sharing a quicker version here.

Perelman suggests serving the baked bean casserole with chunks of garlic bread. In this variation, you’ll quickly simmer a can of white beans in a doctored jarred marinara (Rao won our blind taste test and has long been my favorite), spread them on pieces of grilled bread crispy garlic, sprinkle cheese on top, and slide the mess under the broiler until the cheese is melty and bubbly and maybe browned a little. The whole thing takes less than 30 minutes, because sometimes we want seemingly virtuous but comforting food as soon as possible.

Pizza beans on toast

2 to 4 servings (makes 4 pizza seed toasts)

Total duration: 25 minutes

In this quick dish, cannellini beans are simmered in a flavorful marinara sauce, spread on toasted bread, and topped with cheese for an effect that tastes like pizza — but requires much less time and effort. This recipe was inspired by Smitten Kitchen blogger and cookbook author Deb Perelman’s bestselling recipe for pizza beans, a wonderful casserole dish that’s well worth your time. But when you want those flavors faster, consider this shortcut version that relies on canned beans, store-bought marinara, regular toast, and your grill for a quick, hearty, and nutritious meal.

Storage: Refrigerate bean mixture for up to 4 days.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more if necessary

4 slices of sturdy bread (3/4 inch thick), such as country loaves or sourdough

3 cloves of garlic

1 can (15 ounces) cannellini or white beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup store-bought marinara sauce, like Rao’s

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup (4 ounces) grated fontina

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan (optional)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

MEASURES

In a large (12-inch) skillet, preferably one with high sides, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering. Place a large baking sheet near your work space.

Add the bread to the pan and cook, turning occasionally and adding more oil as needed, until lightly browned on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the bread to the prepared baking sheet and let sit until cool enough to handle, 1 to 2 minutes.

Gently rub the toasted bread with one of the garlic cloves. You probably won’t use all of the clove; finely chop the remaining garlic.

Place a rack about 6 inches from the broil element and preheat to HIGH.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add chopped garlic and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the beans and let them mix with the garlic for about 1 minute. Stir in marinara sauce and wine and bring mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally and mashing some of the beans with a wooden spoon, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Pour 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the bean mixture onto each piece of bread, spreading it to the edges. Top each with 1/4 cup fontina and 1 tablespoon Parmesan, if using. Transfer the baking sheet to the grill for about 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Divide the toast among plates, garnish with parsley and red pepper flakes, if using, and serve hot.

Variations: Before grilling, top these toasts with whatever you’d like, including pepperoni, cooked sausage crumbles, or thinly sliced ​​vegetables.

Notes: Any tomato-based pasta sauce will work here, but we recommend using one that you have tried and liked. If you create your own, even better; see associated recipes.

Nutrition by toast | 397 calories, 35 g carbohydrates, 34 mg cholesterol, 21 g fat, 7 g fiber, 17 g protein, 7 g saturated fat, 764 mg sodium, 5 g sugar