Let's get saucy.
Most of the recipes we cook in culinary school would never translate to a recipe for home cooking. But the moment I learned to make tomato concasse and saw it simmer down to a luxurious sauce, I knew I needed to squeeze it into a recipe somehow. So I created Winter Bean Bruschetta.
Tender white beans coated in rich luscious tomato, draped across thickly-sliced crusty toast, and topped with shreds of basil. The velvety smooth sauce contrasts perfectly with the crunchy bread, while the herbaceous basil pops against the rich umami of the tomato and garlic. Warm, cozy, and deeply satisfying, this winter bean bruschetta is the perfect food to comfort and sustain on a cold winter night.
Like most truly delicious food, this bruschetta is easy to make, but it does require a little extra care in its preparation. The tomatoes must be concassed, which means that they need to be peeled and deseeded before being chopped finely. The concasse is then simmered with garlic, shallot, and thyme beneath something called a cartouche—essentially a parchment paper lid with a steam-hole in the center—until it becomes that thick, luscious sauce.
These extra steps might seem ridiculously fussy or old-fashioned (“can’t I just chop the tomatoes as they are and throw them in a pan with a regular lid?”) but they are essential to creating a truly delicious final product. It’s impossible to get that beautifully glossy thick sauce without eliminating the tomato skins, seeds, and ribs. And as for the cartouche, that paper lid plays a key role in developing the super rich, intense tomato flavor by essentially steaming the tomatoes in their own juices, concentrating their flavor in a way that a regular lid never could.
Whether you dollop the saucy beans onto baguette slices for a party or spread them across a slice of thick country toast and call it dinner, this Winter Bean Bruschetta will never fail to satisfy and delight. Looking forward into the upcoming winter months, we’ll all need a little extra warming comfort. So put on that pot of boiling water, grab a pair of scissors and some parchment paper, and start cooking!
Enjoy!
Winter Bean Bruschetta
(Makes 16 canapes or 8 dinner-sized toasts)
For the cartouche:
large square parchment paper
For the bruschetta:
2 lb tomatoes (5-6 medium)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, minced
3 large or 4 small cloves garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 ¼ tsp Dimond Crystal kosher salt, divided
1 15-oz can white beans (great northern, navy, cannellini), drained and rinsed
8-16 slices good white bread (baguette for canapes, pan de campagna for dinner-sized toasts)
Basil, chiffonade, for garnish
Method
For the cartouche:
Take a square of parchment paper slightly longer than the diameter of your saute pan and fold in half, then in half again to create a square. Fold in half once more to create a thick triangle. Align the center point of the folded triangle (the one that will be in the middle of your paper when you unfold it) with the center of the saute pan, then trim between the two opposite corners to make a rounded arc that fits neatly inside the rounded edge of the saute pan. Snip off the very point of the center corner.
Unfold the paper. It should now be a circle that fits neatly into the saute pan and has a steam hole in the middle. If the paper circle does not fit inside the saute pan, refold and trim off some more of the arc. If it’s too big, it will not circulate the steam properly while the tomatoes are cooking.
For the bruschetta:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. While the water is heating, create an ice bath by filling a bowl halfway-full of ice and adding cold water so the ice cubes are floating.
Using a paring knife, remove the stems from the top of the tomatoes and score an “x” in the bottom of each one. Add tomatoes to the boiling water; boil until the skins start to peel away (1-3 minutes, depending on the tomato). Immediately transfer tomatoes from the boiling water to the ice bath and chill until cool to the touch. Remove and drain.
Peel off tomato skins with a paring knife. Quarter peeled tomatoes and cut out the tomato’s “guts”—any seeds and hard white interior; discard. Dice the tomatoes.
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add diced tomatoes, shallot, garlic, thyme, and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt. Heat, stirring occasionally, until simmering. Top with the cartouche and simmer, until the tomatoes start to disintegrate, about 15-20 minutes.
Add white beans and remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt; replace with cartouche and continue to cook until the tomato has completely fallen apart into a luscious, textured sauce that coats the beans, about 5-10 more minutes. If for some reason the tomatoes start to stick to the bottom of the pan before they’ve disintegrated, add a few tablespoons water to rehydrate.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and bake until crisp but still chewy in the middle, about 4 minutes.
To serve, pile white bean and tomato sauce on toast and top with basil.
Originally posted January 1, 2021.
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