Greek Baked Butter Beans in Herby Tomato Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A big tray of soft butter beans baked slowly in a sweet garlicky tomato sauce with plenty of olive oil and oregano. It is the ideal thing to stash in the freezer: no cream, no cheese and no pasta in the sauce, so it reheats exactly as it went in, thick and glossy rather than watery or split. Make it on a Sunday, freeze it in portions, and eat it all month with crusty bread or rice.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp salt, plus black pepper to taste

• 3 15 oz cans butter beans (lima beans), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or parsley

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). In a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven, warm the olive oil over medium heat and cook the onion and carrots for 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and just starting to colour.
2. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens slightly and smells sweet.
3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, oregano, honey, water, 1 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Simmer 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
4. Tip in the drained butter beans and stir gently to coat, keeping the beans whole. The sauce should be loose enough to pool around them; add another splash of water if it looks tight.
5. Transfer to the oven uncovered and bake 40 minutes, until the top is patched with dark red and the sauce clings to the beans. Stir once at the halfway mark. Stir in the dill or parsley off the heat.
6. To freeze: cool completely (no more than 1 hour on the counter), then pack into airtight containers or zip-top bags in portions, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Freeze flat for up to 3 months.
7. To reheat from frozen: tip a block into a covered baking dish and heat at 350°F (175°C) for 35–40 minutes, stirring once, or thaw overnight in the fridge and warm in a saucepan over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes with 2 tablespoons of water. Finish with a fresh drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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