White Beans in Marinara Sauce and Arugula Salad with Fresh Mushrooms

I got the idea for this dish when we went to Greece a couple years ago and had giant beans in a tomato sauce, and loved loved loved them. I found a couple recipes in cookbooks but then just sort of made this version up and it's stuck - I make them all the time.

sometimes I add a handful of halved cherry tomatoes 

 I don't know where to get giant beans here - for real, there are huge giant white beans out there! Get them if you find them - so I use canned white beans, usually Great Northern or White Cannelini and sometimes a mixture of both. Rinse them really well, put into a small roasting dish, and mix in some jarred marinara sauce (or any spaghetti sauce would be fine I think) - bake at 350 for anywhere between 30 - 45 minutes (you can't really overbake, they just cook down more the longer you bake them. If they seem dry I add a little hot water or olive oil to loosen them up a bit). Season with salt and pepper, and crumble feta cheese over the top for the last few minutes in the oven.

They are good by themselves, or as a side dish to grilled or roasted meat and chicken. I occasionally add halved cherry tomatoes and/or additional italian seasoning - it's a very adaptable dish. But white beans, marinara, and feta alone is just delish...I hope you'll try them!

This time we had them with grilled marinated pork tenderloin and a super easy salad of arugula and fresh mushrooms tossed with a little olive oil, lemon juice, coarse salt, and parmesan.

salad ingredients