Prebranac — Serbian baked beans with onions and sweet paprika

Sort through the beans, rinse, and cover with all 2 l of cold water in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 8–12 hours; the beans will swell noticeably. The next day, discard all the soaking water and rinse the beans again. The recipe timing assumes 12 hours of soaking.

Transfer the soaked beans to a 4–5 l pot. Add 2 l fresh water, the bay leaves and 4 g salt, then bring to a boil. From this point, boil uncovered for 30 minutes at a steady rolling boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer gently for another 45–75 minutes, until the beans are completely tender and creamy inside but still hold their shape. If they remain slightly firm, extend the cooking before moving on to baking. Keep the beans submerged throughout; if needed, add small amounts of hot water from the measured allowance of up to 500 ml. While they simmer gently, prepare the onions as described in the following steps.

Thinly slice the onions into half-moons and finely chop the garlic. Heat all 80 g of sunflower oil in a deep frying pan about 28–30 cm in diameter. Add the onions and the remaining 4 g salt. Cook over low or moderately low heat for 30–40 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are very soft, reduced in volume and pale golden. Reduce the heat if they begin darkening too quickly. All the oil stays with the onions and will be used in the dish.

Add the garlic to the soft onions and stir over low heat for 1 minute, until fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat, add all the sweet ground paprika and black pepper, and mix thoroughly with the onions and oil. The residual heat is enough to release the spice aromas; prolonged frying could make the paprika bitter.

Preheat the oven to 180°C with conventional top and bottom heat. Have ready a baking dish about 30 × 20 cm, at least 6 cm high and about 3 l in capacity. Measure out and reserve 500 ml of liquid from the cooked beans, then drain off the rest. Remove the bay leaves. Gently combine all the beans with all the onions and oil, taking care not to crush the beans. Transfer to the dish and level the surface. Pour in 400 ml of the reserved cooking liquid, distributing it over the whole surface. Keep the remaining 100 ml for topping up during baking if needed.

Bake uncovered on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 55–65 minutes. The liquid should reduce noticeably, the top should brown lightly and the inside should stay moist. If the beans start looking dry during baking and the cooking liquid has completely disappeared from the bottom, pour as much as needed from the reserved 100 ml along the edges. Avoid stirring so a delicate skin can form on top. If the top browns too much, cover the dish loosely with foil and finish baking.

Remove the dish and let it rest for 10 minutes so the sauce thickens slightly. Divide the prebranac into four servings and serve warm, scooping up the beans with the onions and all the remaining sauce. Discard any unused reserved cooking liquid.