Baked Beans (Tavce Gravce)

Tavce Gravce is one of the most traditional Macedonian meals! It's been cooked for centuries, can be eaten as a main or a side dish and goes with pretty much anything

The name comes from the Macedonian words "tava" (the frying pan) and grav (beans) 

or diminutive words tava- tavce and grav -gravce

Ingredients:

- 250g butter beans (cannellini beans are also fine)
- 2 medium-sized onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chili peppers
- 6tbs olive oil
- 2tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika is also fine)
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh marjoram (any fresh herbs work)

Process:

- Soak the beans in water over night.
- The next day bring the water to a boil, drain the beans, cover them with warm water again (don't put too much water, just enough to cover them) and bring back to a boil.
- Add 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, the chilis, and 2tbs olive oil. Give it a good stir and let the beans cook.
- Every 15min taste one of the beans to make sure they are soft. Once soft (after about 30-40min), preheat your oven to 200 C degrees. Take the beans off the stove.
- In a sauce pan, over a medium heat, add the other onion, garlic clove, smoked paprika, 4tbs of olive oil and turn the heat off. Stir the mixture until it becomes a sauce.
- Transfer it to a casserole dish, add the beans together with the water they cooked in, give them a good stir, check for seasoning and adjust.
- Place in the oven, and once you see the beans bubbling (it will happen pretty quickly), turn the oven off but leave the dish in.
- After 30min, take it out, sprinkle some fresh herbs and serve. Enjoy!