White Bean Italian Sausage Chili Food

CHEF JOHN'S ITALIAN SAUSAGE CHILI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir hot Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage, onion, and a pinch of salt together in the pot, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon. Cook until sausage is browned and crumbly, and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes.
• Stir ancho chile powder, paprika, cumin, ground black pepper, chipotle chile powder, and oregano into sausage mixture; saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Pour water and tomato puree into sausage mixture, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook on a steady simmer until sausage is tender, about 45 minutes. Add water as necessary and skim any fat that floats to the top.
• Stir cannellini beans, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper into sausage mixture. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

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.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE CHILI

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, saute the celery, onion and sweet peppers in oil until crisp-tender. Crumble the sausage into a skillet; cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, kidney beans, water, tomato paste, chilies and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes or until thickened. Sprinkle with cheese.