Slow-Cooker Butter Beans With Pecorino and Pancetta
These luscious beans are inspired by pasta alla gricia, a classic Roman dish that is similar to pasta carbonara, but this recipe doesn’t require any egg yolks. The no-cream creaminess is created by vigorously stirring pecorino, sizzling pancetta, and its fat into the warm, brothy beans, all of which emulsify into a spoon-coating peppery sauce. Serve the beans with bread to mop up the sauce. Try to use good pancetta, guanciale or thick-cut bacon — the kind of pork product is less important than its quality. (A similar stovetop recipe can be found here.) This dish is unlikely to need added salt if you are using salted broth; if you use low- or no-salt broth or stock, add salt to taste at the end.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried butter beans (lima), or gigante, or other large beans, soaked overnight and drained
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic smashed and chopped
- 1 teaspoon black pepper plus more for seasoning
- 4 ounces pancetta or guanciale or thick-cut bacon, cut into ½- to 1-inch batons
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice juice of about ½ lemon
- ½ cup grated pecorino (about 1¾ ounces), plus more for serving
Instructions
Cook the beans:
- Soak the beans in 2 quarts of water mixed with 1-1/2 tablespoons of sea salt overnight. Drain and rinse the beans.
- Stir together the beans, broth, olive oil, garlic and 1 teaspoon of the pepper in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low until the beans are tender, about 7 hours.
Render the pancetta:
- Put the pancetta in a skillet over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring often, until the pork has rendered most of its fat and is deep golden brown and crunchy in spots, about 10 minutes. (You may need to lower the heat to medium-low and/or add a spoonful of water to keep the pork from scorching as the fat renders.)
Stir in the pecorino and remaining ingredients:
- Add the pork and its fat, the lemon juice and the pecorino into the beans in the slow cooker.
- Stir vigorously until the pecorino has completely melted and the sauce has become smooth and emulsified, lightly coating the back of a spoon.
- Taste and add more pepper if you like.
- Pass more pecorino and pepper at the table.
Notes
Beans should reach a simmer and cook until tender to be safe to eat. If your slow cooker does not reach a simmer on the low setting, increase the heat level to high, and ensure the beans cook at a simmer for at least 15 minutes at some point in the cooking process.
Useful user suggestions:
- Add some leftover Parmesean rind to the cooking broth. remove when beans are done. So good!
- Deglaze your guanciale pan with a crisp white and add it into the beans for some added acidity and complexity.
- I like the favor the Mayocoba beans from Peru in this dish.
- To those who'd prefer not to use meat products: sub sun-dried tomatoes, chopped into a small dice and stir in some white miso. I do this all the time with carbonara, tastes great and you get the umami like you would using bacon or pancetta.