Haricot Beans With Sausage Pancetta Food

HARICOTS VERTS WITH PANCETTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the haricots verts and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, then plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain again, then transfer to paper towels and pat dry.
• Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove to paper towels using a slotted spoon. Add the garlic to the drippings in the skillet and cook, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Add the panko and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 1 minute.
• Add the haricots verts to the skillet and cook, stirring, until evenly coated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the pancetta and season with salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.
• Photo by Con Poulos

ROASTED HARICOTS VERTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Trim the stem ends only from the haricots verts and place them on two sheet pans. Drizzle the beans with 2 tablespoons of the oil (total) and spread them out in one layer. Sprinkle them with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 10 minutes, until crisp-tender. Serve hot.

WHITE BEANS WITH PANCETTA AND SAGE

Steps:

• Put the dried beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak the beans overnight in the refrigerator.
• Drain the soaked beans, place them in a large pot and cover with fresh cold water. Put the beans over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Toss in the bay leaves and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 11/2 hours until tender. Drain the cooked beans and spread them out on a sheet pan to cool slightly.
• Put about 1/2 cup of flour in a shallow platter and season it with salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Toss the beans in the seasoned flour to coat completely.
• Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta, fry for a couple of minutes to crisp it up. Toss in the sage leaves and fry for about 1 minute. Remove the pancetta and sage to some paper towels; now you have a flavor base. Shake off excess flour from the beans and put them in the pan in a single layer. Fry the beans for a good 10 minutes to form a golden crust on the outside of the beans, tossing to cook both sides.
• Return the pancetta and fried sage to the pan, stir everything together, and serve.

CANNELLINI BEANS WITH PANCETTA, FRIED SAGE, AND GRILLED SAUSAGES

Steps:

• Put beans in a large bowl; cover with cold water by 2 inches. Loosely cover; let soak overnight at room temperature.
• Drain beans; transfer to a large saucepan. Cover with cold water by 2 inches; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, adding more water if necessary to keep beans covered, until beans are tender (add 1 teaspoon salt after 45 minutes), about 1 hour. Drain beans; set aside.
• Heat 1 inch vegetable oil in a 4-quart heavy-bottom saucepan until it registers 365 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in small batches, fry sage leaves, turning them occasionally, until crisp, about 10 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Immediately season with salt. (Adjust heat between batches as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature.) Coarsely crumble two-thirds of the sage leaves; set aside. Set aside whole leaves.
• Cook pancetta in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, turning once, until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain. Reserve fat in skillet with heat off. Coarsely crumble pancetta; set aside.
• Preheat grill to medium. (Alternatively, heat a grill pan over medium heat until hot.) Grill sausages, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 3 to 6 minutes (cooking time will depend on size of links and whether sausages are precooked). Transfer to a serving platter; cover to keep warm.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to reserved fat in skillet, and heat over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add reserved beans and the red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until warm, about 2 minutes.
• Put beans in a large serving bowl, and add reserved crumbled pancetta and crumbled sage leaves, along with the truffle oil, if desired, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Season with pepper.
• Just before serving, drizzle beans with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and garnish with reserved whole sage leaves. Serve with sausages.

GREEN BEANS WITH SAGE AND PANCETTA

Steps:

• Line baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes depending on size of beans. Drain. Spread beans out on paper towels. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
• Combine pancetta and 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet. Sauté over medium heat until pancetta is crisp, separating pieces with 2 forks, about 10 minutes. Add sage and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to plate.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add beans and sauté until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add pancetta mixture and toss to blend. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to large bowl; sprinkle with fleur de sel, if desired, and serve.
• *A sea salt with especially subtle, complex flavor; sold at specialty foods stores and online at chefshop.com.

SAUSAGE CASSOULET

Steps:

• Set the slow cooker to low (ours had a 5-litre capacity). Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and brown the sausages on each side - you don't have to cook them all the way through. Set aside on a plate. Put the lardons, onion and celery in the pan and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 mins until the onion is translucent and the lardons crisp. Stir in the garlic, paprika and thyme, and fry for 3 mins.
• Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half, around 5-10 mins. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, stock, both lots of beans, the sugar and vinegar. Stir until combined and bring to the boil. Pour into the slow cooker with the sausages. Cover and cook for 6-8 hrs. Serve with crusty bread.