Cannellini al Gratin

This one got the thumbs-up. I used canned beans, because I didn't want to deal with cooking them myself, but dried beans cooked in an herbed mixture give the dish a fuller flavour.

Mats
2 cans cannellini beans with their canning liquid
1 large onion, diced
1 bulb of fennel, diced
3 carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided into 1/2 and 1/4 cup amounts
1c breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In an oven-safe pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the carrots and fennel and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the diced onion and cook another 7 minutes, uncovered and stirring frequently.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and add the vinegar, stirring well and scraping all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add the beans with their canning liquid, parsley, thyme and 1/2c Parmesan cheese. Stir well to combine.
The bean mixture should have enough liquid in it to just barely cover the beans. If it's short, add a little water.
In a separate bowl, mix the 1c of breadcrumbs, remaining 1/4c cheese with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Stir well
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the bean mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

NB:
If you want to use dried beans, start with 1 lb cannellini beans. Soak them overnight in a large bowl of cold water.
Put the beans in a pot with enough water to cover them by 3 inches.
Tie together 6 sprigs of thyme to 3 sprigs of parsley. Peel an onion, stick 3 whole cloves in it. Peel 6 cloves of garlic and chop them in half. Cut the fronds and stems off the fennel. Toss all of the above into the pot with the beans
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and boil with a semi-cocked lid for 30-45 minutes or until beans are tender. Discard the herbs, onion, garlic and fennel, but reserve some of the cooking liquid for use in the gratin.

This is why I just used canned beans. Easier and still quite tasty.