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Тавче Гравче (Tavče Gravče, Baked Tetovo Beans)

Тавче Гравче (Tavče Gravče, Baked Tetovo Beans) reads heat 4.4, allium 4.2 and herbaceous 3.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Macedonian main, about 2 hr 39 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Heat 4.4 · Allium 4.2 · Herbaceous 3.8 · Salinity 3.6 · Richness 3.6 · Sweetness 2.7 · Umami 2.7 · Nutty 1.9 · Earthy 1.4 · Floral 1.3 · Bitterness 0.9 · Warm Spice 0.8 · Sourness 0.7

What's in it (11)

Time & effort: about 2 hr 39 min (2 hr 28 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 12.9 kcal, 0.4 g protein, 0.2 g fat, 2.8 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (11 steps)

  1. Drain the soaked beans. Tetovac beans are large, flat and thin-skinned, and they are the reason this dish tastes the way it does; ordinary cannellini are a compromise, not an equivalent.
  2. Cover the beans with fresh water, bring to the boil for 10 minutes, then drain and discard that water. This is what keeps the finished dish from being heavy.
  3. Return the beans to the pot with the 1.5 L of water, bring to a bare simmer and cook uncovered 70 minutes, until a bean crushes easily between finger and thumb but the skins are still whole. Do not salt them yet.
  4. Meanwhile cook the onion in the oil over medium heat for 15 minutes, until deep gold and sweet.
  5. Pull the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika and the hot chilli. Off the heat, always, and count ten seconds before adding anything else.
  6. Sprinkle in the flour and cook the mixture 3 minutes over low heat, stirring, to make a red zaprška.
  7. Stir the zaprška into the beans along with the dried mint, summer savory and salt, keeping enough of the cooking liquid that the beans sit in a loose sauce rather than swim.
  8. Transfer everything to a wide unglazed earthenware tava, or a shallow casserole.
  9. Lay the whole dried chillies on top.
  10. Bake at 200C for 40 minutes, until the surface has gone dark and blistered and a skin has formed that you break through with the spoon. That crust is the dish; a tavče gravče served soupy has been undercooked.
  11. Rest 10 minutes and serve from the tava with bread and a little white cheese.

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Keep reading: what heat, allium, herbaceous mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.