Mushroom White Bean Gratin
Elsa made this dish for a dinner party a couple of times, served with a salad. It was so good; I loved the rich flavor from the white beans and veggies and crusty bread -- so much that I bought a 6-qt cast iron dutch oven largely so I could try this out. The recipe below I've adapted some to add more veggies and a mix of fresh herbs.
Ingredients
1/4 C oil
1 leek (or onion), finely chopped
3 large carrots, cut in 3/4" pieces
3 large celery, chopped (optional)
1 large potato, chopped (optional)
(or other root veggies)
10 oz mushrooms, sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 T flour
1 C water
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 T tomato paste OR 1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 C dry sherry
30 oz white beans (cooked, or two 15 oz cans)
4-5 slices country bread, cut in 1/2" cubes
1/4 C oil (olive or canola)
1/4 C minced parsley OR mix of fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, sage) chopped
Instructions
Chop and dice the veggies. Whisk together the flour and water.
Saute onion (with salt) on medium high for a couple of minutes, and then add veggies and sautee until browned. Then add mushroom and saute. Reduce heat to medium and stir in garlic and pepper. Saute a few minutes.
Reduce heat to medium low and add tomato and thyme. Saute a few minutes. Add sherry and cook, scraping up the tiny brown bits.
Add beans and flour-water mixture. Bring to boil over high heat.
Meanwhile, mix the bread cubes, herbs, and oil in a bowl.
Remove skillet from heat, and transfer to cast iron dutch oven (unless that's what you used for a skillet :)
Cover the mixture with the prepared bread cubes. Bake 40-50 minutes at 300 degrees, then broil carefully to brown bread cube topping.
Remove and let sit 10-15 minutes. Serve! Nice with a light salad.
Gathering ingredients, including pressure-cooking the white beans:
