Salsiccie e fagioli

Salsiccie e fagioli (or Sausages and Beans!)

Regardless of how you say it this combination is a favourite in one form or another throughout Europe and indeed though the new world such as the United States and Australia where by European dishes were taken to the Colonies by settlers.

Here is one of my favourites that is often eaten at home for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

It is based on the tomatoey 'Fagioli all Uccelletto' from Tuscany that is traditionally served with pigs liver if my memory serves me well, and a little bit like the French cassoulet (but with out the duck!)

The list of ingredients are as follows, this is how I cook it but feel free to adapt, I use the rosemary and touch of chili combination, usually however it wouldn't have the chili and would have sage instead of rosemary....but i really would recommend lots of fresh crusty bread to mop up the juices with!

500 g Good Italian pork or Toulouse sausages

220 g Dried cannellini beans

Large tin (400g) of good chopped tomatoes

Glass of red wine

3 cloves of chopped garlic not too fine as its nice with a bit of body.

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon dried chili flakes

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Method:

Soak the beans overnight in cold water in a suitable container.

Drain the beans and rinse , simmer in fresh water for 35-45 minutes, drain and set aside for later use.

Saute the sausage over a low heat until nicely coloured all over-set aside

Add olive oil, garlic and rosemary to the saute pan and heat through gently so as not to colour the garlic (this will make it bitter if it does)

Now add the wine and the sausages back in to the pan and reduce the wine by half.

Now add the tomatoes and add a little bit of salt (depending on the sausages you do not want to over season in case the sausages are highly seasoned and spiced) and the drained beans.

Simmer for around 15 minutes until the sausages are cooked through and the sauce has thickened up a little.

Check the seasoning

Serve with chopped flat leaf parsley.

Nice!