Creamy Anazape Beans and Winter Squash Traybake

Prepare the beans:

Add beans to a large pot and cover with cool water (at least a few inches above the beans, as they expand). Soak for at least 6 hours or overnight at room temperature. Once beans are soaked, drain and set aside.

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil, onion, and a healthy pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Stir and sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 3–4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic.

Next, add drained beans, avocado leaf, and optional bouillon cube (or veggie stock) and cover with water until there is about 2 inches of liquid covering the beans. Add optional chile pepper, stir, and bring to a low boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Once the beans are tender and cooked through, add cumin and more salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook on low for 10 more minutes to let the flavors meld. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt to taste, cumin for smokiness, black pepper for depth of flavor, and chili powder for heat.

Prepare the rest:

Heat the oven to 400°. Pour the cooked beans and 1 cup of the liquid into a deep baking dish, add the tomatoes, squash, garlic, salt, wine, olive oil, and sage and mix gently with your hands, distributing the squash evenly throughout the mix and poking the beans under the liquid (otherwise they’re likely to explode while in the oven).

Bake until the squash is almost falling apart and caramelized and any tomatoes on top of the mix have roasted nicely, about 1 hour. Remove and serve straight from the baking dish with fresh bread to tear and dunk in the cooking juices.

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