I’ll tell anyone who will listen about my love for beans. I actually high-fived a friend at dinner the other night when she said she liked to cook beans for her large family. If you are on a budget and you have a lot of people to feed, beans are the ticket. And they are so good for you. But I will confess that we are growing tired of our standard beans, which I often use as a stand-in for chili.
These rosemary scented soft white beans, topped with salty and cheesy breadcrumbs, left under the broiler just until bubbly and crispy are great on a cold winter night.
White Beans with Parmesan Breadcrumbs
1 pound dry navy beans, great Northern beans, or cannellini beans
1- 32 ounce box beef stock (I prefer the meaty flavor of beef stock, but water, vegetable stock, chicken stock, or bone broth are fine)
2 cups water (or enough water to cover the beans by at least 2 inches)
1 whole onion cut in half
1 spring fresh rosemary
Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Kosher salt, olive oil, for serving
Rinse beans and discard any rocks. Place beans in slow cooker, cover with stock plus water. Add whole peeled onion and spring of rosemary. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
When beans are soft, discard onion and rosemary (some leaves will fall off and that’s fine). Place beans in a 9×12 baking dish and top with equal parts Panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, sprinkle with Kosher salt, and drizzle with olive oil. You can also use individual ramekins for each serving like I did. Place beans under the broiler for about 10 seconds, or until the topping is crispy and browned.
Serve immediately.
