I'm not a meal planner so when it comes time to make a dinner I usually just look to see what I have and if I don't know what to make I turn to Google. Last week I googled "white beans and bacon." A few recipes came up but the one that caught my eye was a medieval recipe with a modern counterpart. I was on my iPhone so I couldn't see the whole website but later realized it's a blog of recipes based on Game of Thrones books.
How cool is that?
I didn't have all the ingredients handy so I checked my veggie garden
and here is my recipe based on the original.
(see below for link to the original recipe and the cool blog called In At The Crossroads)
4 cups cooked white beans*
1 package nitrate free bacon, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 large kale leaves, tough stems removed and chopped
handful of sage leaves
Cooking oil
Cook bacon until crispy, set aside and drain most of bacon fat from pan.
Reserve remaining bacon fat.
Add a tablespoon of oil, I use grapeseed for high heat cooking like this.
Heat oil then carefully add the sage leaves. Do not leave the pan, once the sage leaves start to turn darker they need to be taken out of the oil, they can burn very quickly. Set crispy sage on papertowel and lightly salt. Set aside.
Add a bit more oil if needed, then saute onions and kale until soft. Add garlic and saute for one minute more. Add beans and bacon and a few tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat (optional, but it adds tons of flavor.) Mix all in pan just until everything is heated back up. Add pepper to taste, you shouldn't need any salt, the bacon should add more than enough.
Spoon onto plates then top with crispy sage.
I served mine with gluten free rolls.
Everyone in my family loved this, the kids went back for seconds and no leftovers!
*I always cook my own beans. Besides being much cheaper than canned, I am saving all the sodium and BPA's you get from canned beans.
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