Ragout de Haricots Blancs -- vegan

2 small to medium onions, sliced fine
2 medium carrots, sliced medium
2 cups white beans
2 tomatoes, chunks
2 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons curry or turmeric
2 teaspoons herbes de provence
2 table spoons flour, leveled, or 1 heaping table spoon
1 teaspoon pimenton (dark Spanish paprika)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cloves


If you are using dry white beans, leave them to soak over night (Note: Pepin says you don't need to, but I prefer to have them soaked, those with whom you share enclosed spaces will appreciate it). A couple of hours before we started cooking, we changed the water, leaving this time just enough to cover the beans. Make sure the water is cold.

The cooking begins very much like an onion soup would, by slicing up the onions and frying them under cover over medium heat until you feel they are dark enough. The more cooked they are the sweeter they are. We prefer a light brown, not yet caramelized but thoroughly soft. Once onions are cooked add the flour and fry but do not burn, then add the beans with the water. We used whole wheat flour, and so if you use regular white flour, you might want to use less. If you want to add the beans and water separately, just make sure you barely cover the beans, then add the vegetable broth. Once it boils for about 5 minutes, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a while. Depending on the type of beans, it could take an hour or more. We usually check to see how the beans are -- there's also a personal preference as to how cooked the beans should be, crunchy vs pasty. I prefer a little crunchy. When the beans are about 3/4 cooked add the carrots, garlic, herbes de provence, pimenton, cloves and curry. In a separate pan fry the tomatoes on high heat. The pan has to be really hot so that the tomato chunks caramelize. When the tomatoes are done, add them to the beans. At this point, the beans should be about 10-15 minutes from being done. If you need to cook them for longer, don't worry, this recipe is very flexible with quantities and time.

The stew is done when both the carrots and beans are cooked to your liking. The carrots have to be added at the end because they take less to cook.  Salt and pepper to taste.

We attempted several variations, but didn't like the addition of vegan sausage, and were split on adding fresh marjoram.   

-Pip