Simple Escarole and Beans

My friend Melissa mentioned on Facebook last week that she'd made escarole and beans.  I adore escarole and beans.  A long, long time ago I used to have a delicious escarole and beans recipe.  But of course now I can't find it.  Anywhere.  I don't remember everything that went into it, but I do remember there was Parmesan.  And escarole.  And, well, beans. 

Tonight I tried to re-create it partly from memory and partly by making things up as I went along.  It turned out really good.  The hubby, who had never had escarole before and was leery of the dish, was a good sport and tried it.  And went back for seconds.  I'd call that a success.

Simple Escarole and Beans

Ingredients:

• a couple tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 15-oz. cans of cannellini beans, drained (I used great northerns tonight)
• 1 cup water
• 2 large heads of escarole, washed and roughly chopped
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• a large handful (or two) of shredded parmesan

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add the beans and water and stir for a few minutes until heated through.  Mash some of the beans with your wooden spoon, it helps to thicken the sauce.
• Add the escarole.  2 large heads may seem like a lot and that it won't all fit into the pan, but the escarole does wilt down a lot, I'd say to about 1/3 or 1/4 its original volume.  I did this in handfuls, starting with the firmer white pieces, stirring them until they wilted a bit, then adding more, and ending with the more tender green pieces.  Once the escarole is all lightly wilted, add a few dashes of TSGG and some TSSS and black pepper to taste.  
• Stir in the shredded parmesan.
• Ladle into bowls and top with an additional sprinkle of parmesan.  Serve with crusty bread.