Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens

I recently saw this book at a friend's house and I knew instantly that I had to have it. But I decided to take the prudent approach: I first got it out of the library. After it has to go back, *then* I will buy it. ;-)

Super Natural Cooking is written by a San Francisco author. And it is visually so appealing, as well as having wonderful recipes and information about the virtues of different ingredients.

Today I am taking dinner to a friend from church who is ailing. This dish seems to purr lovingly, "comfort food" to me. It came out so scrumptious! (Yes, of course I had to taste it! I had to make sure it's good, didn't I?) 1/2 pound medium or large dried white beans, cooked

3 tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil (since I wasn't cooking for a vegan, I used the butter! And I used more than 3 tablespoons...)

Fine-grain sea salt

1 onion, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

6 or 7 big leaves chard, preferably rainbow chard, cut into wide ribbons

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

Drain the beans, then heat the butter over medium-high heat in the widest skillet you've got. Add the beans to the hot pan in a single layer. Stir to coat the beans with butter, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Salt to taste, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Stir in the chard and cook until just beginning to wilt. Remove from the heat and season to taste with a generous dose of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of top-quality extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.

I'll bring it over with a loaf of bread from Di Prima Dolci.