White Bean Chipotle Casserole

I got this recipe from my Sister-in-Law (for all intents and purposes), Heather and it is fabulous! Heather was awesome enough to make this for our Christmas dinner, making us vegetarians very happy!


I only modified the recipe by removing the cheese to make it plant-based and using Great Northern Beans (these were the biggest white beans I could find). We also served ours with a little avocado.  Boy was it yummy!

Ingredients:
1 pound of large, dried white beans (corona, giant limas, gigantes, or any giant white beans you can find), rinsed, picked over and soaked overnight - or up to 24 hours.

Chipotle-tomato sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 big pinches of red pepper flakes
2 pinches of salt
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers

Cilantro Pesto:
1 medium clove of garlic
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
big pinch of salt

Other ingredients:
2/3 cup kale or chard, washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
1 1/2 cup whole-grain breadcrumbs, toasted in a skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil

Directions:

1. To prepare the beans. Drain and rinse the beans after their overnight soak. Then place them in a large saucepan and cover with an inch or two of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are cooked through and just tender. This can take anywhere from an hour to two hours (potentially more) depending on your beans, but do your best to avoid overcooking. (If you have a pressure cooker, I highly recommend using it - you don't have to soak the beans, they cook in 6 minutes and you only have to wait 45 minutes for the pressure to release.)  
2. Remove from heat, salt the beans (still in bean broth) with about a tablespoon of salt - enough that the bean liquid is tasty but on the salty side. Let the beans sit like this for ten minutes or so before draining and setting the beans aside.
3. In the meantime, make your tomato sauce. Place the 2 tablespoons olive oil, red pepper flakes, couple pinches of salt, and chopped garlic into a cold medium saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute just 45 seconds or so until everything is fragrant - you don't want the garlic to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and the fresh oregano and heat to a gentle simmer, this takes just a couple minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the adobo sauce - carefully take a taste (you don't want to burn your tongue)...If the sauce needs more salt add it now, more chipotle flavor? Go for it. Set aside.
4. Make the cilantro pesto by combining the clove of garlic and cilantro in a food processor. Pulse while you drizzle in the olive oil - alternately, you could do this by hand. Season with a bit of salt and set aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. In a 9x13 baking pan (or large oven-proof casserole/dutch oven) toss the beans with the tomato sauce and the kale. Bake in the top-third of the oven for thirty to forty minutes. I would recommend covering the dish with foil so the beans on top don't dry out. Remove from oven and let sit for about ten minutes. Top the beans with the breadcrumbs and serve with the cilantro pesto.

Serves about 6.

Thanks to 101cookbooks for the original recipe!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/giant-chipotle-white-beans-recipe.html