Every time I make this flageolet gratin, I think about my first days at Chez Panisse. Everything went smoothly the first week. It seemed my studying—I had read La Varenne Pratique cover to cover and was working my way through Larousse Gastronomique—had paid off, until one of the cooks asked me to go and get a bag of “flageolets” from the storeroom. All of the blood rushed to my face. Too embarrassed to admit I didn’t know what he was talking about, I scurried away, hoping for divine intervention. In my panic, I spotted a French cookbook and quickly read that flageolets were dried kidney-shaped French beans. I found the beans in the pantry, wiped the sweat from my brow, and rushed back to my station. Saved— until the next time!

　　

Ingredients

7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 small sprig rosemary

　　1 chile de árbol, crumbled

　　1/2 cup diced onion, plus 5 cups thinly sliced onions

　　1/2 cup diced fennel

　　3 cloves garlic, smashed

　　2 tablespoons thyme leaves

　　1 bay leaf

　　1 1/2 cups dried flageolets (See Sources)

　　5 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

　　2 teaspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

　　Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Heat a medium pot over high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil, and add the rosemary sprig and crumbled chile. Let them sizzle in the oil a minute. Add the diced onion, fennel, garlic, 1 tablespoon thyme, and the bay leaf, stirring a minute or two, until the onion is wilted. Add the flageolets, and cook a few more minutes, stirring to coat the beans with the oil.

　　

Step 2

Cover with water by 3 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to low, and place a paper towel over the beans to keep them under the surface.

　　

Step 3

Simmer for 30 minutes, and then add 2 1/2 teaspoons salt to the beans. Continue cooking on a low simmer about 1 hour, until the beans are tender. As the beans cook, add water as necessary (but don’t add too much—you want these juices to be rich and a little starchy, since they will be an important part of the finished gratin). Remove the beans from the heat, and let them cool in their juices. Taste for seasoning.

　　

Step 4

While the beans cook, caramelize the sliced onions. Heat a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over high heat for a minute. Swirl in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive-oil, and add the sliced onions, 2 teaspoons thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. Cook 6 minutes, stirring often. Turn the heat down to medium, and stir in 1 tablespoon butter. Cook 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping with a wooden spoon, until the onions start to caramelize. Turn the heat down to low, and continue to cook about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are a deep golden brown. Spread the onions on the bottom of a 9-by-9-inch (or equivalent) gratin dish. Spoon the flageolets into the gratin dish with a good amount of their cooking juices. The beans will expand a little as they bake, so fill the gratin dish only three-quarters full (reserve any extra beans for use in another dish).

　　

Step 5

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

　　

Step 6

Toss the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl with the remaining teaspoon thyme and the chopped parsley. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook about 3 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter browns and smells nutty. Pour the brown butter over the breadcrumbs (make sure to scrape up all the brown bits), let cool a minute or two, and toss to combine.

　　

Step 7

Sprinkle the brown butter breadcrumbs over the beans, and bake 1 1/2 hours, until the gratin is bubbling, nicely browned, and crispy on top.

　　Sunday Suppers at Lucques[by Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber. Copyright © 2005 by Suzanne Goin. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved..Suzanne Goin graduated from Brown University. She was named Best Creative Chef by Boston magazine in 1994, one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine in 1999, and was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2003, 2004, and 2005. She and her business partner, Caroline Styne, also run the restaurant A.O.C. in Los Angeles, where Goin lives with her husband, David Lentz.Teri Gelber is a food writer and public-radio producer living in Los Angeles.](http://astore.amazon.com/epistore-20/detail/1400042151)