Bean Caserole

I am not much of a vegetarian but sometimes, at the end of a costly month, I will turn to beans for a main dish meal.  Here's one I recently gave a friend who needed a casserole for a party she was going to attend.. The ham can be omitted. BTW My husband and son both LOVED this dish.

Cindy Peck December 2 at 2:56pm

Glad I could help out. I am pretty sure I read this recipe in one of the 100s of magazines I read on the flight to and from SC!!!
I had already soaked and cooked my beans with a bay leaf, ham hock and garlic cloves last night. I am sure that you could use canned beans and it could be any other beans but I thought red, green  and white...holiday...you know....

1 cup dry white beans
1 cup dry red kidney
1 bunch kale stems removed chopped or spinach (No need to remove spinach  stems.)
1 med. onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
2 celery stalks diced from center with leaves

1/2 small  green and red peppers diced
1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted with peppers)
1 tsp dry sage or a few fresh large leaves chopped
a pinch or two of nutmeg (fresh ground if you have a nut)
small package of prociutto cut into long skinny strips (I think it was about 4 ounces) I got it at Trader Joe's . Smallest amount they had.
S/P to taste

Make beans. Drain but reserve liquid.
Cook (boil) kale in salty water for about 10 min. Drain.
Saute garlic and onion in pan.
Add drained kale.
Add celery, peppers and tomato. Cook until celery and peppers are tender.
Add cooked beans.
Add sage and nutmeg.  If during cooking you need more liquid use bean liquid or chicken broth.
Stir in prociutto strips. Cook down so its "stewy" not "soupy."
Bake covered for about 20 min. You can put panko bread crumbs on the top and broil for the last 5 min. to brown the bread crumbs on the uncovered casserole.
Add salt and pepper to taste.