BEANS & GREENS GRATIN
When it comes to cookbooks, Frank Stitt’s two books rank way up there for me and I’ve been studying them and cooking from them for years. His Birmingham, AL restaurant Highlands Bar & Grill is on my bucketlist, but I’ve yet to make it there so cooking from his books is the next best thing. His life stories, beautiful photos and his elevated comfort food are very relatable for us Southerners and, I would imagine, appealing to anyone who loves a good story and good food.
How on earth I’ve made it this long without trying his White Bean & Collard Green gratin from Southern Table until now is beyond me. It is one of the best recipes I think I’ve made, and I don’t necessarily like white beans. Trust me, you should make this if you want to make people, or yourself, happy.
I’ve tried to simplify it where I can and have mixed up a few ingredients, which he encourages you to do. If you want to make his original recipe, you can find it here. Expect this scaled down version to feed about 4 people. You could serve this with any roasted or grilled meat.
INGREDIENTS:
Grapeseed oil, or any neutral oil like canola
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
1/2 lb. bulk sausage (I used Neese’s)
1 large bunch Lacinato Kale (you can use swiss chard or collards) *SEE NOTE
1 15.5oz can White Northern Beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup half & half
Kosher salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups pepper jack cheese, hand grated
Parmesan cheese, grated
DIRECTIONS:
Prep all of your ingredients in advance, including washing the greens really well and removing the tough stems. Then roughly chop the greens. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat a dutch oven or other similar sized pot over medium heat on the stove until it’s warmed. Then add about 1/4 cup of oil and heat for a minute. Add the onion to the pan and sauté for a few minutes until it’s translucent and beginning to brown. Then add the garlic and jalapeño and cook for a minute or two or until it’s fragrant, stirring almost constantly.
Next add the sausage to the pan, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon and allow to cook until it’s beginning to brown and cooked through. Now add the greens you are using and saute those until they are cooked down and wilted.
Stir in the chicken broth and half & half and heat until it is simmering. Season with a teaspoon of kosher salt and 8-10 grinds of fresh black pepper and stir. Add the beans and continue to stir and cook until they are heated through. Turn off the heat and add 1 cup of the pepper jack cheese and stir until it has melted.
Spray a large soufflé or gratin dish with cooking spray. I used a soufflé dish that was 7 1/2 x 3 1/5 and there was still a little room at the top. But any oven safe dish around this size will work. You could also use individual-sized ramekins. Add the bean mixture to the dish and top with remaining pepper jack and parmesan cheese.
Place dish on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until it is bubbling around the edges. I like to finish it under the broiler for just a minute while watching the whole time, just until the cheese browns.
*NOTE: I don’t recommend using the thick curly Kale because it’s as tough as tires, so if possible seek out Lacinato (aka Dino) Kale as I recommend above.
*MAKE AHEAD NOTE: You can make this ahead earlier in the day up to the point where you add the mixture to the baking dish and top with cheeses. Cover with foil and keep in the fridge until ready to bake. Let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. This reheats really well covered with foil for 25-30 minutes at 350.
