The story behind the recipe
Fasolka po bretońsku is, according to Polish Wikipedia, beans cooked or stewed with tomato sauce and additional ingredients, and is "one of the most popular dishes in Polish cuisine." It has little to do with Brittany: Robert Makłowicz wrote in "Wprost" in 2003: "Immortal po bretońsku, a dish completely unknown in Brittany." Wikipedia mentions a related dish, the French cocos de Paimpol à la bretonne, made with white beans from Brittany. The exact origin of the Polish name is uncertain.
According to the "Canon of Polish Cuisine" (2019), one of the oldest recipes for Polish fasolka po bretońsku comes from France: it was published in 1918 in a cookbook for the Polish army chefs in France, known as the Blue Army of General Haller. "Fasola biała po bretońsku" was counted for a hundred soldiers: the beans were soaked overnight, cooked with onion, carrot, garlic, herbs, and lard, and then stewed in a sauce made from roux and pureed tomatoes, sprinkled with parsley. The canon notes that "the recipe does not even mention a gram of meat." It is unclear when sausage and bacon were added to the dish.
During the PRL era, fasolka was, as the Canon writes, "a staple on the menu of every bar," and the dish itself is "more Polish than French." For Poles in Great Britain, as Kathy Burrell wrote (2009), it evokes memories of home dinners. Three Polish beans are protected by European Union law: wrzawska, korczyńska, and Piękny Jaś from the Dunajec Valley, which was registered in 2011. Piękny Jaś is the most commonly grown variety of broad bean, known for its very large white seeds.
Ingredients
Fasola
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300 g dry Piękny Jaś beans (or another large white bean; soaked overnight)
Abroad: USA and Canada: great northern, navy or large lima (butter) beans; UK: butter beans, cannellini or haricot beans; Germany: weiße Riesenbohnen or weiße Bohnen - 1 l water (for cooking the beans)
- 1 pc bay leaf
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3 pcs allspice (berries)
Abroad: allspice berries, Germany: Piment - ½ tsp (about 3 g) salt
Sos
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150 g raw smoked bacon (diced, skinless)
Abroad: USA: smoked slab bacon; UK: smoked streaky bacon or lardons; Germany: Räucherspeck or Bauchspeck -
200 g sausage (e.g., Silesian or Podwawelska, diced or in half slices)
Abroad: any smoked sausage, spicier: andouille - 150 g onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (grated or sliced)
- 400 g canned diced tomatoes (or 1 kg of fresh, peeled tomatoes)
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30 g tomato paste
Abroad: USA: tomato paste; UK: tomato purée; Germany: Tomatenmark - 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil (only if the bacon is lean)
Przyprawy
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1 tbsp (15 ml) dried marjoram
Abroad: dried marjoram; Germany: Majoran - ½ tsp (2.5 ml) smoked sweet paprika (optional)
- salt and pepper (add salt at the end, after tasting)
Method, step by step
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Sort the beans: discard damaged beans and impurities, then rinse them in cold water.
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Cover the beans with cold water so that it reaches about 10 cm above the beans, and set aside in a cool place overnight, for about 10 hours. Add more water as the beans absorb it. After a few hours, the skin will wrinkle, which is normal: after soaking longer, the beans will smooth out again.
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Drain and rinse the beans, cover them with 1 liter of fresh water, add the bay leaf, allspice, and salt. Cook covered over low heat for 1–1.5 hours, until soft but whole. Check the pot, as some types cook faster. Do not drain the water, as it will become the sauce. For a quick version, use canned beans: drain and rinse them, skipping the soaking and cooking.
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Cut the bacon into cubes and place it in a cold pan. Heat over medium heat to slowly render the fat until the bacon is browned. If the bacon is lean, add a tablespoon of oil.
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After a few minutes, add the sausage, then the onion, and sauté together for 5–10 minutes. Finally, add the garlic and sauté for a moment longer. Transfer everything to the pot with the beans.
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Cook the beans with the meat uncovered for 5–10 minutes to allow some liquid to evaporate.
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Add the tomatoes along with their juice and the tomato paste, then the marjoram, pepper, and if you like, the smoked paprika. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If using canned beans, simmer in the sauce for about 30 minutes.
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Taste and only then add salt, as the bacon and sausage are salty.
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Serve hot, with a slice of fresh bread, sprinkled with parsley, basil, or lovage.
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