4-24 hours ahead of time: rinse beans in a strainer, picking through them for any detritus.

Put beans in large bowl and cover with cool water. Beans will expand, so account for this. If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate the bowl.

To cook the beans:

Some people cook the beans with the soaking water; others, like me, strain the soaking water and start with fresh. The choice is yours.

If you are straining, strain beans in a fine strainer.

Pour olive oil in a lidded ceramic, enameled, or comparable pot. Turn heat to medium low.

Add garlic, onion, carrot, and celery and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes. You want the vegetables to soften in the oil. If the pot looks a bit dry, add more oil. Don’t let the vegetables brown deeply; taking a little color is fine.

Once the vegetables have softened, tip in the beans. Stir to mix with vegetables and olive oil. Add the bay leaf and parsley sprigs.

Add enough water to cover the beans by about two inches.

Bring to a boil and skim scum as well as you can. Once the scum stops rising, partially cover the pot and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.

I confess that keeping beans at a simmer rather than a galloping boil is a challenge. Even with a flame tamer, I find myself fiddling with the heat a fair amount. This may be my oven; I wish you better luck. Even with this fiddling, the beans do just fine.

Stir beans occasionally, testing for doneness after one hour. Once the beans have softened, it is safe to season them. Add salt and pepper, tasting for seasoning. Add the optional seasonings, or your preferred seasonings, tasting as you go.

Serve white beans as is, with green salad and bread, or see the notes for additional serving ideas.

White beans keep, refrigerated, in a lidded container, up to five days. Freeze up to three months.

Notes:

The Rancho Gordo website offers precise bean cooking instructions.

Other ways to serve white beans:

On a soft tortilla with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, sour cream, and hot sauce.

If you have equal amounts of leftover beans and meat stored in its cooking juices, chop or slice the meat into small pieces and add it to the beans. Tip the meat cooking juices into the beans. Reheat.  Eat. I did this with the last bit of a pork chop and a recent batch of white beans, and let me tell you, it was heavenly.

Make a white bean stew using diced boneless chicken thighs, peeled cubed potatoes (waxy or not), carrots, onion, garlic, and celery. Season with salt, pepper, dried oregano, and a little onion powder. Add the chicken during the last 35 minutes of cooking. Make this stew vegetarian using mushrooms or firm tofu. Optional additions: fresh or frozen peas, diced summer squash, red peppers, scallions.

Add beans to rice or pasta with a shower of fresh herbs.