Rustic Bean And Mushroom Casserole

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups dried beans, soaked for at least 8 hours
• 1 small onion, peeled & sliced in half
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 2 pieces
• 1 small carrot, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried tarragon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large leek, sliced thinly
• 1/2 lb mushroom, mixed varieties
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, preferably fresh and homemade
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped until resembling coarse crumbs (use food processor)
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Recipe

• 1 drain and rinse beans. add to stockpot with 4 c cold water. bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. skim off any foam from the top. cover the pot and lower the heat to medium. add the onion, celery, carrot, thyme and tarragon. simmer for about 45 minutes.
• 2 remove the carrot, onion and celery (either discard or use in a stock). lower the heat to low and continue to simmer. the beans should resemble a thick stew, if there's too much liquid, leave the pot uncovered and stir occasionally.
• 3 about 10 minutes before the beans are done, place the garlic and 2 t oil in a cold skillet. heat the skillet over medium heat, allowing the garlic to sizzle for about 30 seconds. add the chopped leeks and saute 1-2 minutes. scrape the leeks into the beans.
• 4 add the remaining 2 t oil, allow to warm, and add the mushrooms. sprinkle the mushrooms lightly with 1/2 t salt and saute until most of the mushroom liquid has evaporated, anywhere from 8-12 minutes depending on the types of mushrooms. add the mushrooms to the beans.
• 5 turn off the heat and season the beans with the remaining salt and pepper.
• 6 preheat oven to 350.
• 7 make the sage bread crumbs: melt the margarine in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. stir in the bread crumbs, walnuts, sage, oregano, and paprika, and season with salt and pepper. stir constantly until the mixture is lightly coated, 3-4 minute remove from the heat.
• 8 pour the beans into a casserole dish. top with the sage bread crumbs. bake for 20-25 minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden and the beans are bubbling.