My love of cassoulet let me to this quick, delicious dish. Flageolet are known for their delicate, mild flavor. This shouldn’t be confused with them being bland. They’re anything but! They do soak up whatever you cook them with so make sure you have quality ingredients. Here at Rancho Gordo, we like to keep it simple with just some chopped onion, garlic, bay leaf and a little olive oil, all cooked in water. I’ve experimented a lot with bean casseroles and gratins and I’ve come to the conclusion that 100% beans is fair. The sauteed onion and fennel added to the beans make for a much more interesting texture and flavor. For me, this and a salad makes for a great meal. Recipe: Flageolet Gratin 2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Flageolet beans, strained, liquid reserved 5 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium fennel bulbs, outer layers removed, cored and thinly sliced 1 yellow onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1 teaspoon dried thyme In a frying pan over medium heat, warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the fennel, onion and garlic and saute until soft and well-cooked, 15 to 20 minutes. Gently stir in the beans and remove from the heat. Preheat the oven to 375F. In a small bowl, mix thoroughly the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the bread crumbs and the thyme. In a 9-inch gratin dish, first add the onion-bean mixture. Add enough of the reserved bean-cooking liquid so that the liquid goes just under halfway below the top of the beans. Top off with the bread-crumb mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs are browned and the liquid is bubbling.