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Gretchen @wokkax3.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Really enjoying this e-cookbook. (I have a fetish for pregnant ladies eating beans. Well I mean I do now anyway)

Fancy lady eating beans with bare belly showing.

FRENCH ONION BEANS & GREENS
SERVES 8-10

Gretchen @wokkax3.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

From Alison Roman’s Something from Nothing. Here’s the recipe if you’re interested:

I originally made these rich, fatty beans using the leftover ham bone from one of my famous (to me) Ham Parties, and ever since, I've become attached to making a version of this on a regular schedule (even in the absence of a party with batched martinis). The type of pork you use here is negotiable and should be whatever is casiest for you to get your hands on, but I will say that fatty, smoked pieces of pork (leftover ham bone, ham hocks, etc.) will give you perhaps the most excellently flavored beans possible. Including so many onions in the broth, which simmer with the beans as they cook, turning oh-so soft and sweet, was born from a desire to eat French onion soup but without the rigmarole of making caramelized onions
—and I will say, these beans really get there.

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, very well crushed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ bunch thyme or 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound dried beans, any sort, or 4 (15-ounce) cans beans, any sort, drained and rinsed
1 smoked ham hock or 1 ham bone
2 bunches dark, leafy greens, such as kale, collard greens. or broccoli rabe, thick stems remored, chopped Grated Gruyère or cheddar cheese (optional) | Sliced bread, for toasting and rubbing with garlic (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onions and crushed garlic to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are nicely browned and tender, 15-20 minutes. These will not be true caramelized onions, but they will approximate the texture and flavor of them, I promise.

2. Add the thyme and Worcestershire sauce to the pot, stirring to coat the onions. Add the beans, smoked pork, and 10 cups of water (6 cups if using canned beans) to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, letting the beans gently simmer, stirring every so often until they're very tender and the broth is thickened and impossibly delicious, 1-2 hours (depending on size and age of the bean). If using canned, this will take 45-60 minutes. (Canned beans are obviously already cooked, but simmering will help them tenderize further and become even more flavorful.)
3. Add the greens to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and make sure they are submerged in the liquid so they can properly stew and soften. Cook until the greens are tender to your liking, 10-20 minutes.
4. To serve, if the pork hasn't naturally started to shred or fall apart on its own, pull out the hunks and do that, then mix it back into the beans.
Ladle into bowls and enjoy as is or top with a nice pile of cheese and serve with toast rubbed with garlic (or make cheesy toasts to serve on top) for a more French-onion-soup feel.

DO AHEAD
The beans can be made 5 days ahead, stored covered and refrigerated. They also can be frozen (greens included) a few months ahead.

EAT WITH
Garlic-rubbed toast, a wedge of Gruyère.