Slow-Cooker Butter Beans with Pecorino & Pancetta
I should probably start off by saying I do not own a slow cooker. That being said, when I recently spotted Sarah DiGregorio’s recipe for Slow-Cooker Butter Beans with Pecorino & Pancetta on NYTCooking’s Insta, as with any scrumptious-sounding recipe, I immediately saved it to my “food” file. And while it was the inspiration for the meal I made on Sunday night with Rancho Gordo’s Ayocote Blanco beans, because I got so caught up in Alcaraz crushing Medvedev in the Indian Wells final, I kinda’ forgot it was DiGregorio’s beans I’d planned to make and auto-piloted my way through my own White Beans with Rosemary & Garlic recipe. So after cooking the beans according to my method for a few hours atop the stove in my trusty Le Creuset pot, I then followed DiGregorio’s final two steps below. The combo-recipe approach yielded amazing results, so if you, too, don’t own a slow cooker, fear not and follow my lead.
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 ounces dried gigante, butter (lima) or other large beans, soaked overnight and drained
3 cups chicken broth (I used water)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for seasoning
4 ounces pancetta, guanciale or thick-cut bacon, cut into ½- to 1-inch batons
Juice of ½ lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
½ cup (about 1¾ ounces) grated pecorino, plus more for serving
Preparation
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. (As mentioned above, I cooked the beans for closer to 3 hours in my Le Creuset pot.)
Tip: 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.
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.)
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.
