Prebranec

almost 3 years ago

Hello, chefs! 😋

Prebranec, or baked beans, is a popular and classic dish throughout Balkan cuisines. It can be a stand-alone dish or a side dish to grilled dishes. The main ingredient is cooked white tetovac beans, but other types can also be used.
At home, it's prepared with pancetta, but it can also be prepared without, i.e. as a completely vegetarian dish.

What do we need for a prebranec? If you follow my food posts you've probably noticed that I always cook for 4 people, well here it's just for three because someone in the family doesn't like beans :)

For 3 people:

600 grams of white beans (I used canned cooked beans, otherwise I would have had to soak them the day before and cook them for at least an hour)
100-150 grams of pancetta or other bacon,
1 onion, or more
a few garlic cloves
a few dried tomatoes
1 fresh red pepper
1-2 tablespoons smoked paprika powder
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper if necessary

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First, mince the onion, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes in a blender. Dried and pickled tomatoes are my go-to, as they mellow the acidity of the tomatoes and give the dish a more sophisticated flavor.
I used a blender to make it go faster, you can also cut it by hand but the process takes longer.

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Cut the fresh red peppers into small pieces.

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Then, fry the bacon on the stove, letting it melt, and then drain the oil. Then add the onion, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes that you have previously blended.
Fry for a couple of minutes until the onions are golden. Then add the chopped fresh peppers, stir and fry again for a couple of minutes.
When the peppers have softened, add two tablespoons of smoked paprika powder, and two tablespoons of tomato paste. Stir again and fry until the whole mixture becomes compact.

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After a few minutes, add the cooked canned beans. Stir well, add more water if necessary, salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes. When you see the liquid boiling, turn off the heat. The beans are ready to bake.