Baked Beans and Greens

Over the last few days I posted all my recipes I made for Christmas Eve dinner.  Today, I'm going to post a new recipe that I tried for dinner on Christmas Day.  The entire menu for Christmas day looked like this:

The tofurkey was a store bought one from Trader Joe's.  It contained wheat ingredients so I did not eat that dish.  My main dish was the Baked Beans and Greens.  I am so happy there were leftovers of this dish because I enjoyed this dish a lot!  In fact, I think by the time I ate all the leftovers, I probably ate most of the dish myself.

This recipe was inspired from here:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup dried white, red, or black beans (rinsed)
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 4 cups kale (or other greens)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup grated vegan Parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. In a medium pan, combine beans and enough water to completely cover beans by several inches.  Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes, covered.
2. Preheat the oven to 300F.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook until browned, about 6 to 7 minutes.
4. Stir in carrots, celery, and garlic and cook about 2 more minutes.
5. Stir in tomato paste and cook about 1 minute.
6. Stir in greens a little at a time.  Drain beans and add to the skillet.  Stir in the vegetable broth, cayenne pepper, and salt.
7. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 inch casserole dish and cover with foil.  Bake until beans are tender about 1.5 to 2 hours. (It will depend on the type of beans you use).
8. In a small bowl, combine Parmesan and parsley.
9. When the beans and greens are done baking, sprinkle on the Parmesan and parsley mixture.  Bake, uncovered, for about 10 more minutes.

I used red kidney beans and it took about 2 hours to bake in the oven.  I think next time I make this dish I am going to try it with nutritional yeast.  

You can also add 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (see the original recipe).  Just combine them with the Parmesan and parsley before adding it to the top of the beans and greens casserole and continue baking, uncovered, until the top is brown and crispy.

I enjoyed this meal as a main dish, but it can also easily be served as a side dish.  It is a very filling dish.



Christmas Day 2012 Dishes:
Tofurkey (From Trader Joe's)
Baked Beans and Greens
Walnut Brussels Sprouts
Butternut Squash Risotto (I am perfecting this recipe and will post it sometime in the future)
Dark Chocolate Avocado Pudding



This recipe makes 8 servings.
Based on using red kidney beans, kale, and Galaxy Nutritional Foods vegan Parmesan Cheese, 1 serving yields approximately 157 calories and 11g protein.