I love the ways simple foods pair so well together. Take beans and greens – humble, simple food enjoyed throughout the world. I love the way creamy white beans pair beautifully with the briny, mineral notes of kale and garlic. This White Bean and Kale Gratin makes a simple side dish, but is substantial enough to serve as a main course when paired with a light salad dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
Cooking with dry beans requires a little extra planning, as they benefit from soaking overnight in warm water which helps to make them easier to digest and quicker to cook. I save time in the kitchen by soaking a pound of dry beans or more, boiling them until tender and then freezing them for later use. You could also substitute canned beans in this recipe for dry beans if you’re in a pinch.
| White Bean and Kale Gratin | Print |
- 1½ cups small white beans, picked over
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (This is the one I use.)
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch red kale, veins and stems removed and chopped coarsely
- 1½ cups long-simmered chicken bone broth
- 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- Scoop the beans into a mixing bowl with a tight-fitting lid, cover with warm water by two inches and stir in the baking soda. Allow the beans to soak at least twelve and up to eighteen hours. Drain them and rinse them well.
- Dump the beans into a stock pot with a heavy bottom, cover them with water, and bring them to a boil over high heat. Immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the beans until tender and cooked through, about ninety minutes. Drain.
- Heat the oven to 400 F.
- While the beans simmer, warm two tablespoons olive oil in a oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Drop in the the garlic and red chile flakes, allowing the garlic to sizzle in the olive oil until it releases its fragrance, about two minutes. Turn down the heat to medium, and stir in the kale, sauteing it continuously until slightly wilted, about two more minutes. Stir in the broth, and let kale cook in the hot broth until wilted and tender. Stir in the beans and a teaspoon of salt. Turn off the heat.
- Warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a separate skillet, and then stir in the breadcrumbs, onion and garlic powders and half teaspoon sea salt. Toast the seasoned breadcrumbs, stirring continuously to prevent scorching, until amber brown.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the beans and kale, and then top the breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the crust becomes crispy. Serve warm.
Soak Your Beans for Better Nutrition
Beans benefit from soaking in hot water which makes them easier to digest and quicker to cook; even more, it makes their minerals more bioavailable and more easily absorbed. Soaking beans helps them to release raffinose, a type of carbohydrate that can cause digestive upset and gas.
Soaking also activates enzymes held within beans that deactivate food phytate, a natural component of beans that binds up minerals and prevents their full absorption. When you soak your beans, all those minerals that were previously bound by food phytate become a much more readily absorbed by your body – making beans all that much more nutritious.
Take the Pulse Pledge
Pulses are extraordinarily rich in micronutrients including minerals like iron, magnesium and phosphorus as well as vitamins like folate, which is critical to women of reproductive age for its ability to mitigate the risk of birth defects.
The United Nations named 2016 the International Year of Pulses, because they’re are nutrient-dense, affordable, easy to store and can be grown sustainably and in a wide variety of climates. For my part, I appreciate that they’re inexpensive, loaded with micronutrients and resistant starch as well as easy-to-prepare.
We’re working with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada this year to spread the word about pulses and the pulse pledge.
You can start adding pulses to your meals pretty easily, and if you’re ready to see how that simple act impacts your budget (and what’s on your dinner table), join me in signing up for the Pulse Pledge here.
I look forward to trying this. I make lots of kale salads, but have been looking for other recipes. As I grow kale in my garden, would you have an idea of how much a typical bunch of kale is? Would you think it would be 4 cups coarsely chopped… less? Thanks also for sharing about the International Year of the Pulses.
Hi Laurie,
I typical bunch of kale is about 8 ounces, or 6 ounces trimmed.
Hi Jenny,
I have just finished reading your first book, The Nourished Kitchen (I read cook books like novels), and I loved it. So many wonderful recipes and I just love your writing style, very warm and natural. This looks like another cracker of a recipe, simple flavours and full of goodness.
Thanks again
Fi
Looks delicious! Just a quick question, though: when you say to soak the beans in warm water overnight, how do you keep the water warm? Do you put the bowl in a dehydrator? Thanks!
Hi Chris,
Ideally, you might keep it in a food dehydrator or in the oven with the pilot light on. What I mostly do, though, for convenience sake is to pour warm water over the beans and not worry about its cooling.
I’ve tried this (or something similar) before and it is good. But my family loves beans, anyway. I never thought of freezing beans that have been cooked til soft before. Doh. Good idea because I do forget to soak a lot. Sometimes I just throw them into the pressure cooker unsoaked and cook longer but I know that isn’t really good – although I’ve never actually noticed any difference at the time. Then there is the boil and let soak a while method but if I’m in a hurry, I’m in a hurry.
Do you buy the beans in a can or not? I buy them canned and soaking them just destroys them.
No, I only buy dry beans.
Yum, looks so inviting I could dig my fork straight in and not stop until the whole dish is gone.