Beans prepared this way are creamy, have a special flavor, because they are prepared over an open fire, and have a different smell and aroma due to the ceramics.

We live in times where we have less and less of one essential thing: time. The goal is always to cook a quick meal and eat it even more quickly. Ready-made dishes, pressure cookers and kitchen gadgets have become our most valuable allies. But is there anything more beautiful than finally making time to approach food the way it deserves: slowly? Imagine a bean stew simmering on the stove for two hours, or better yet, four to five hours beside a fire, in a clay pot.

A dish of the old Šokci

The old Šokci used to cook beans this way for practical reasons while working in the fields or vineyards. Beans would be cooked in a clay pot, along with bacon, sausage, onions, and red paprika. The pot would be placed near hot embers that were simply pushed to one side, allowing warm and cool air currents to stir the contents naturally.

They also used to cook it in winter using the stove that heated their living space. They would light it in the morning, and once it was warm, they’d place a clay pot inside to prepare something soupy for lunch that day. Everything was put into the pot at once, then placed in the stove to simmer for three to four hours, with occasional checks to make sure there was enough water.

Interestingly, Šokac-style beans cooked in a clay pot is also a recognized culinary brand in the town of Mohács in neighbouring Hungary, which has its own bean festival. A special type of a colourful, slightly larger bean is used.

Beans prepared this way are creamy and have a unique flavor, owing to the open-fire cooking and the special aroma from the ceramic pot. Try this dish at several places in Baranja, and you can also buy a ceramic pot at the Asztalos Keramika workshop in Suza.

Like life in Baranja - slowly

One of those places is Baranjska kuća in Karanac, where it’s been on the menu since the restaurant opened. As Stanko Škrobo says, it's one of the most original dishes of this part of Croatia.

“It’s cooked in pots made from Baranja clay and it’s a very simple dish, but this very simplicity is what makes it so complex. It’s prepared over several hours on an open fire, so it’s not something you can just make at home, which is exactly why it’s exclusive,” explains the young restaurateur, highlighting the paradox.

Make sure to book in advance if you want to try their beans from a clay pot, as the dish takes an entire day to prepare. The beans are soaked overnight and cooked for several hours. They make it with smoked meats like pork ribs and shank, but also with fresh beef and pork, along with vegetables, salt, and ground red paprika.

“The philosophy lies in the technique - the quantities of each ingredient, the way the carrots and parsley are chopped, and that's something you learn with experience,” says Stanko, pointing out the uniqueness of the handmade pots. “You have to know the pot — where the wall is thinner and the beans might burn. At first, we stir it to even out the temperature, and then it’s cooked slowly next to the fire, like life in Baranja. Slowly.”

With this dish, Škrobo recommends a light, dry, mineral, fresh wine. “So, light it makes room for a second serving,” he concludes with a smile.

That’s how it used to be

One of the masters of clay pot beans is Marko Horvat from Duboševica, who is also the president of the association That’s How It Used to Be ("Tako je to nekad bilo"). He prepares the dish at various tourism events, as well as on request at Tikveš Castle and in the Zajec Family Wine Cellar. The first event this year where the dish can be sampled is the Pasta Festival (Festival tista) and Baranja Bećarac, held in early June in Topolje.

Horvat’s recipe is simple. Add one third of beans, one third of smoked meat, and a third of water into the pot, along with red onion, garlic, carrot, parsley or celery, ground paprika, and salt, plus a spoonful of pork lard to enhance the flavour. He places the pot next to the fire, with only the flame’s proximity heating it. “The embers shouldn’t touch the pot as they could damage it. I don’t stir the pot; the currents do that,” says the chef.

As for wine recommendations, he notes that sweeter wines are becoming more popular. “There are a lot of women among our guests, and men have started following their taste. Each of our wineries has one or two wines that are sweet or semi-sweet, and they pair wonderfully with beans from the pot,” Horvat concludes.

Sweet wine for spicy beans

This is confirmed by the wineries Carev podrum and Gerštmajer. Alongside the standard offering, they produce dry, semi-dry, and sweet Graševina wines. They prepare all their dishes — including the beans, which are now part of the regular menu — right in front of their guests, who are welcome to watch and ask questions.

“That makes people even hungrier, especially with an aperitif — homemade rakija, liqueur, or a glass of wine,” reveals Ivan Gerštmajer Zelember, adding that he recommends dry Graševina as the aperitif, while its semi-sweet or sweet version or a late-harvest Pinot Gris would balance out the bold and spicy flavours of the dish.

Written by: Maja Celing Celić