Name: Quick White Bean and Ham Gratin
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling; 1 medium red onion; 2 cloves garlic; 8 ounces boneless ham steak or other thickly cut ham; 3½ cups cooked or canned cannellini beans (two 15-ounce cans); 1 lemon; 1 or 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried herbes de Provence; ¼ cup white wine or water; Salt and pepper; ½ cup bread crumbs

White bean and ham gratin in a skillet like a quick cassoulet.

Photo by Jim Henkens

This quick cassoulet-inspired gratin uses ham and cannellini beans instead of the duck, sausage, and traditional flageolets. The idea is to pull together a quick braise, top it with crisp bread crumbs, run it under the broiler, and serve.

Variation: For an excellently smoky (and not at all traditional) fish version, use 8 ounces smoked salmon (first choice is the flaky hot-smoked kind, though lox is fine too) or smoked trout or whitefish instead of the ham. Instead of the tarragon, chop ¼ cup fresh dill.

Recipe information

Total Time
20 minutes
Yield
Serves 4

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 medium red onion

2 cloves garlic

8 ounces boneless ham steak or other thickly cut ham

3½ cups cooked or canned cannellini beans (two 15-ounce cans)

1 lemon

1 or 2 sprigs fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried herbes de Provence

¼ cup white wine or water

Salt and pepper

½ cup bread crumbs

Preparation

Step 1
Turn the broiler to high; put the rack 6 inches from the heat. Put ¼ cup olive oil in a large broiler-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Trim, peel, halve, and slice the onion. Peel and mince 2 cloves garlic.
Step 2
Add the onion and garlic to the oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes. Chop the ham into bite-sized pieces. If you’re using canned beans, rinse and drain them. Grate the zest from the lemon; refrigerate the fruit for another use. If you’re using fresh tarragon, strip the leaves from 1 or 2 sprigs and chop.
Step 3
Stir in the ham, beans, tarragon or 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence, lemon zest, ¼ cup white wine or water, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook and stir just until the liquid evaporates, about a minute.
Step 4
Spread the mixture evenly in the skillet, scatter the bread crumbs over the top, and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Step 5
Broil until the beans are hot and bubbling and the bread crumbs are crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Let sit for a minute or two, then serve.

From How to Cook Everything Fast, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman. Copyright © 2022 by Mark Bittman. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from Harper Collins or Amazon.