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One of the things I like about How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is that many of the recipes include multiple variations. So instead of one recipe it is 3 recipes or in the case of Boulangerie Beans with Potatoes you are given 6 recipes. But it is such a simple formula, there are so many variations you can easily come up with. Fantôme Chocolat and I enjoyed this so much the first time I made it that I ended up making another variation the second week.

According to Mark Bittman, the author, Boulangerie Potatoes is a classic French dish. Potatoes were left in the local baker’s oven with stock for a long time. The long cooking period causes the stock to form a glaze over the potatoes as it reduces. From some digging around I did, Chef Tom Colicchio relays a variation on this history in one of his books.

As I mentioned, the formula is simple- 3 cups of beans, 3 medium potatoes, and 1 cup of stock. You also use some herbs, spices and butter. The beans should be drained but still moist. I suspect if you use canned ones, they will turn very mushy here due to the long cook time.

For the first attempt at this recipe, we used pinto beans (the ones from the slow cooker in the bean post) and sweet potatoes (for those of you with the book reading along at home, we did not use all the suggested spices or sugar… I do not like adding sweet to my sweet potatoes, I prefer them on the savory side).

We started off with three cups of pinto beans seasoned with salt, pepper, homemade anchovy free Worcestershire sauce and…

… a tablespoon of fresh thyme (yum).

While I got the beans ready, Fantôme Chocolat thinly sliced some sweet potatoes.

The sweet potatoes were then layered on top of the beans and a cup of vegetable stock was added. More salt, pepper, and fresh thyme was added as well as some butter. (That is the recipe called for 3 tablespoons. It looks like a lot now and it tasted like a lot too… Fantôme Chocolat and I don’t use butter all that often and we could certainly taste it!)

Cover with foil and cook at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 45 minutes so the potatoes can brown and glaze. The dish can be served hot or at room temperature.

We made a salad to go along with this with some fresh carrot and cabbage I had around.

I had cut these in a shred and prepared them for a cold salad…

…but Fantôme Chocolat was in the mood for something warm so I sauteed the salad with some sesame oil and gave it a dash of rice wine vinegar.

In the end, this was a simple yet satisfying Sunday meal.

The following Sunday, I decided to make this again while doing some things around the house. Fantôme Chocolat never got to try this one because I ate it and all the leftovers during the week (and I am a reluctant leftover eater). This time, I used white beans, red potatoes, and leeks.

The leeks need to be trimmed, chopped and rinsed well. I opted to slice mine thinly in rings. Cook them in butter until they are very soft (20 minutes or so).

The potatoes also need to be thinly sliced. Cut them in half lengthwise then into half circles. The recipe says to peel them, but I did not.

The recipe here suggests white beans so I used great northerns. I mixed them with fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

Once the leeks were cooked, I layered them on top of the beans.

Then I layered on the potatoes, added a cup of stock, and seasoned with more salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. I put a little butter on top.

The same cooking instructions as above apply, 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes covered by foil the 45 minutes without.

I ate this one with a salad of greens and fava beans that I did not take a picture of unfortunately.

I have not decided what the next variation will be yet. Maybe I will skip the book ones and do my own… I see black bean and sweet potato coming!