Tushkovana Kvasolia (тушкована квасоля, stewed beans)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide heavy pot with a lid
• •A wide pan for the zasmazhka
• •A box grater
• •A wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the beans

   Cover the beans with plenty of cold water and leave them overnight. They should swell and wrinkle their skins a little, like they have taken a long bath. Drain them before cooking.

   Forgot to soak? Cook them anyway, but give them more time and keep the water topped up. Beans forgive forgetful people.
2. 2

   Cook until soft

   Put the drained beans in a wide pot with the halved onion, bay leaves, and enough fresh water to cover by a few fingers. Bring to a lively boil, then lower to a gentle simmer and cook until the beans are tender all the way through. Salt them when they are nearly soft. Keep a mug of the bean cooking liquid before you drain anything; that cloudy water is body for the stew.

3. 3

   Build the zasmazhka

   Warm the sunflower oil in a wide pan and add the diced onions with a pinch of salt. Let them soften slowly until glossy and sweet-smelling, then add the grated carrots. Cook until the oil turns orange and the carrot has collapsed into the onion. This is zasmazhka, the slow-sweated flavour base, and it should smell sweet before the tomato goes in.

4. 4

   Darken the tomato

   Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, paprika, and black pepper. Cook until the tomato paste darkens from bright red to brick red and the smell changes from sharp to round. Add the passata or tomato mors and let it bubble until thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a clear path for a moment.

5. 5

   Stew together

   Fold the cooked beans into the tomato zasmazhka with enough reserved bean liquid to make it loose but not soupy. Simmer gently until the beans drink in the sauce and the pot sounds thick, not watery. Taste for salt, then balance the tomato with a little sugar if it is harsh or a splash of tomato brine or vinegar if it needs lifting.

   The zasmazhka goes in at the end so its sweetness sits brightly on the beans instead of flattening into the cooking water. That is the difference between beans in sauce and beans that taste finished.
6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and stir in most of the dill. Let the pot sit until the sauce settles and clings to the beans. Serve warm with more dill, a thread of sunflower oil, and smetana if you like it. The spoon should stand up straight enough to make a point.

Chef Tips

• •Use small white beans if you can; they turn creamy without falling apart. Larger beans work too, just give them the time they ask for.
• •Fermented tomato mors makes the sauce deeper and a little sour, especially in winter. In August we'd be drowning in tomatoes; in January we open a jar instead.
• •Do not rush the onion and carrot. The chopping forgives you, the bean size forgives you, but raw-tasting zasmazhka will sit in the pot and complain.
• •For a western Ukrainian direction, add a handful of soaked dried mushrooms and their strained soaking liquid to the bean pot. A bit more forest, a bit less steppe, still a good table.
• •Leftovers thicken overnight. Loosen with a splash of water or bean liquid, or eat them cold on rye bread with dill and a little onion.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the beans overnight, 8 to 12 hours, so they cook evenly and keep their shape.
• •The finished beans keep well for 4 days in the fridge and improve after a night of resting.
• •You can cook the beans a day ahead and finish them with the tomato zasmazhka just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)