Cannellini And Italian Sausage Stew Food

CANNELLINI BEANS AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large bowl with water, using your hand swirl the beans around to rinse them and discard any small stones or beans that look brown. Drain the beans in a colander, rinse and refill the bowl with beans and a generous amount of water (at least 2-3 inches above the beans) and let soak overnight or for at least 6 hours.
• Drain the beans, rinse well and place in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add 7 cups water, 5 of the sage leaves, the tomato halves and bring to a boil uncovered over med-high heat. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered until the beans are tender 1 1/2 - 2 hours, be sure to test for doneness. Drain and reserve the beans, discard the sage and tomato halves.
• In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, 5 remaining sage leaves, onions, carrots, celery, red pepper flakes and saute for 8-10 minutes until the ingredients are soft and translucent. Stir in the cooked beans and crushed tomatoes. Add the salt, pepper and the chicken stock. Stir together and simmer gently, when all ingredients are combined and warmed, stir in the mascarpone cheese until melted and evenly folded into the tomato and bean mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover saucepan to keep warm and turn off heat until ready to serve.
• Cook the sausage by braising or grilling. Once the sausages are cooked, transfer them to a cutting board and cut into halves or thirds. Transfer the warm beans to individual bowls and arrange sausage pieces on top. Garnish with a sprig of fresh sage.
• * To Serve 4-5, prepare the same recipe with 1 package of Johnsonville Italian sausage.
• * mascarpone cheese is a mild flavored, creamy Italian cheese and can be found in the specialty cheese section of most grocery stores.

CANNELLINI BEAN AND SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a grill pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.
• In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, onion, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes (plus juices), beans, kale and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the kale has wilted, 25 to 30 minutes.
• While the stew is cooking, place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Add the sausages and grill, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Cool and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Remove the pan from the oven and add the cooked sausage slices. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spoon the stew into bowls and serve.

CANNELLINI BEAN AND SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• If using dried beans, soak overnight, discard soaking water. Add beans to pot, cover with water by several inches. Add 1/2 onion (coarsly chopped), and 3-4 bay leaves. Simmer until soft (about 45 minutes). When done, drain in sink.
• While beans are cooking, cut sausage in half lengthwise, then cut into half-moon slices. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in heavy Dutch oven, sauté sausage until browned, about 5 minutes. When done, remove to bowl.
• Add chopped onion to pot, sauté for 2 minutes, adding more oil if necessary. After 2 minutes, add chopped garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and juice, dried oregano, dried marjoram, and chicken stock to pot with onions and garlic. Add sausage back to pot and cook at a low simmer about 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, add drained beans and simmer 15 minutes more. (If the mixture seems too dry at this point, add a bit more chicken stock.).
• Add chopped basil and balsamic vinegar and simmer 5 minutes more. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.
• Serve hot with freshly grated parmasean (Romano works nicely as well).

CANNELLINI AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• Cut the sausage into 3/4-inch pieces, remove casing.
• Cook in large skillet over medium-low heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add onions and garlic to the skillet; cook until sausage is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Drain skillet.
• Add tomatoes, beans,spaghetti sauce, and herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, core, seed, and remove ribs from the bell pepper; cut into 3/4 square inch squares or diamonds. Cut zucchini into 1/2-inch slices, then quarter the slices. Add sweet pepper, zucchini and hot pepper flakes; simmer about 5 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender.
• Serve with Parmesan.

CROCKPOT SAUSAGE, PEPPERS, AND CANNELLINI BEAN STEW WITH PARMESA

Steps:

• Use a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker for this recipe.
• Chop onions, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper into pieces about 1/2 inch square. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, then saute onions and peppers until they begin to soften, then add to slow cooker.
• Squeeze Italian sausage out of casings and add to frying pan, adding a bit more olive oil if needed. Brown sausage well, breaking apart with turner as it cooks, then add to slow cooker.
• Pour beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears, then add to slow cooker. Add tomatoes with juice, dried basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, black pepper and bay leaves to slow cooker. Pour chicken stock over other ingredients and stir to combine.
• Cook on high about 4 hours or on low for all day. Serve hot, with freshly grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling on the stew.
• (*) South Beach Suggestions:.
• Make with turkey Italian Sausage, this stew is perfect for any phase of the South Beach Diet, which allows low-glycemic dried beans in small amounts, even for phase one. Since this recipe has a generous amount of vegetables and sausage in proportion to the beans, it would be great for phase one.

ITALIAN WHITE BEAN AND SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• Soak beans in cold water, 8 hours to overnight.
• Drain beans and set aside.
• Make a cut down the center of each sausage and peel off the casing. Transfer sausage into a dry soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown sausage, while breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Cook and stir until juices start to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan, creating a fond, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add onion and stir to coat in the rendered sausage fat. Cook until onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add white wine to deglaze the pot. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and water.
• Add drained beans, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and continue to simmer until beans are tender, about 30 more minutes. Taste beans to be certain they are perfectly cooked.
• Smash about 1/4 of the beans with a potato masher to give the stew a creamy texture if desired. Stir in chopped kale, increase heat to medium, and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
• Ladle hot soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a pinch of red pepper flakes.