Very Versatile Baked Beans With Cabbage

Any kind of medium or large dried bean works great here. Starchier varieties—like Italian gigante beans or cannellinis—will produce a creamier broth, and more vegetal ones—anything lima-like—will produce a thinner, slightly stew-ier broth. Black beans, kidneys, and pintos are all good. The onions and cabbage melt into the dish, providing a blanket of sweet richness. Embrace the versatility of this dish by playing around with the vegetable make-up by adding cubed winter squash, swapping chicories for the cabbage, using stock in place of the water, or stirring in blanched hearty greens or spinach at the end, for example. And serving options are similarly open-ended; see below for a few favorites.