Margarita's International Recipes

North Macedonia

Tavče Gravče Macedonian Baked Beans Tavče Gravče, white beans baked with onions and peppers, is considered to be North Macedonia's national dish. It's been prepared in the region for centuries, and, being fully vegetarian, is/was eaten particularly on Fridays and during Lent. Tavče reserves to the unglaced earthenware pot in which it's baked, though you can use whatever casserole or baking dish you have. It's traditionally made with tetovac beans - large, flat white beans that grow in the Balkans. You can find these in the US at specialty markets, but if you don't have one around or want to save on shipping, you can use cannellini beans or even butter beans. I used canned cannellini beans, as I couldn't find any dried ones at an affordable price. I skipped the red peppers in this dish because my vegetarian daughter doesn't like them, but they are a traditional part of this and other Macedonian dishes. PRINT PDF Macedonian Baked Beans Ingredients 12 oz dried or 3 13-15.5 oz cans Tetovac dried beans or substitute with cannellini or butter beans. 3 onions 2 Tbsp olive oil 7 garlic cloves, minced 1 Tbsp tomato paste 1 Tbsp all purpose flour 3 Tbsp sweet paprika 1 tsp dried mint pinch of cumin 1 Tbsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1 - 2 red bell peppers, sliced 2 dried chilies 2 bay leaves Directions If using dried beans, soak them in salted water overnight. Drain, put beans in a saucepan, add 2 quarts of water, bring to a boil, skim off any froth, turn temperature to to low, partially cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Drain, and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. If using canned beans, drain and reserve the liquid in the cans. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C Put the drained beans in the bottom of a casserole or baking dish. Set aside. Peel the onions. Slice one onion into rings and chop the other two. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent. Add the garlic cloves and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the tomato paste. Stir in the flour and the paprika. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved bean liquid. Turn off heat. Pour the onion mixture on top of the beans. Add the mint, the cumin, ground pepper and salt. Add another 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid from the beans. Stir everything together. Stir in the bell pepper slices, the dried chilies and bay leaves.Top with the onion rings. Spoon some of the sauce over the onion rings. Drizzle everything with some olive oil. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and dried chilis and serve with crusty bread. Adapted from Julius' recipe at Baking Hermann Do you have a comment on this recipe? Please make it here Macedonian Recipes | Marga's International Recipes | Marga's Best Recipes | Marga's Food Blog | E-mail