Name: White Beans in Sherry-Bread Crumb Gravy
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1/4 cup fine dry plain bread crumbs (see Notes); 1/4 cup sherry; 2 tablespoons fresh thyme; 1/2 teaspoon salt; Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper; 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth; 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 cups); 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Gravy is pure comfort for me, and if I can make a gravy into a meal, so much the better. This is one of my favorite ways to have a rich, comforting, and filling dinner in less than half an hour. It also contains one of my favorite methods to get a toasty gravy base with lots of depth—toasting bread crumbs. After caramelizing the onions, you sprinkle in the bread crumbs and toss them around a bit until golden brown. Then, when you add the liquid ingredients, the bread crumbs thicken and flavor the gravy. It's wonderful served with grilled or sautéed kale, and over mashed potatoes.

Notes:

• I use store-bought bread crumbs here, and they (for whatever reason) act a lot differently than homemade ones. You can make your own if you like, but use about 1/3 cup and make sure they are very fine and dry.
• Either great northern or navy beans would be great here. I think cannellini are a bit too big for this recipe, but you can use those if you like!

Recipe notes

Charred Vegetable Ragù

This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!

Gigante Beans With Seaweed Salmoriglio

Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.

XO Sauce

Developed in the 1980s by a chef in Hong Kong, this sauce is all about umami.

Frijoles de la Olla Ramen (Mexican Stewed Beans)

Traditionally, this Mexican staple is simmered for hours in an olla, or clay pot. You can achieve a similar result by using canned beans and instant ramen.

Smothered Italian Sausage

This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.

Smothered Italian Sausage

This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.

Béchamel Sauce

This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.

Sofrito Bolognese

An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.