Beans With Cheese and Basil

A couple of weeks back, the husband and I were at a book sale. H, a self-confessed bibliophile, picked up a couple of bags of books to add to his ever-growing collection. I looked through boxes and boxes of books before I found a few for myself. This was one of the books that I bought for less than a dollar.

I modified the original recipe just a bit. It's so simple and tasty that I've prepared it a couple of times now using different kinds of beans each time. This isn't the most appetizing looking dish, but it tastes a lot better than it looks, fortunately.

(For 2 servings)
Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained, 1/3 cup liquid reserved
½ can small red beans
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste (keep in mind that the canned beans already have salt in them)
¼ tsp pepper
¾ -1 tsp garlic powder
6-7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
3-4 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the beans and the reserved liquid in a large bowl and partially mash the beans against the side of the bowl using a wooden spoon.

Add the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and chopped basil. Mix well. Place in a baking dish. (I divided the mixture between 2 ramekins.)

Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese melts.
Serve hot.