At a wedding recently, I sat near two old friends talking about 1998, the year they drove all over Italy in a white Fiat Ducato van. Farther down the table, someone was talking about removal men swinging a wardrobe through a fifth-floor window. I listened in on both conversations, fading one out when the other was more interesting. At a certain point, though, the van chat turned to beans and sausages, so I tuned in.
There was some back and forth about which city they were in – Novara in Piemonte, Mantova in Lombardia, or Treviso in Veneto – before the reminiscing concentrated on dinner. Having arrived at the venue and set everything up, they were told there was only one option – sausages and beans – and that when the two of them pointed out that they didn’t eat meat, it was suggested they simply pulled them out. Being so hungry as to be flexible, they agreed, only to find that when the dish arrived the sausages were sbriciolata (crumbled) through the beans. At which point, both of them seemed to turn to me as if they wanted confirmation that crumbling sausage into beans was a ridiculous and selfish thing to do. Which, of course, it is, if it’s the only option for a mixed crowd.
For sausage eaters, though, crumbling two at the foundation of a pot of braised beans is an effective way of making a small amount go a long way, not only imparting delicious flavour but heightening the flavour of the beans themselves. In fact, both beans and sausages contain trisulphides, which account for the earthy, mushroomy, fatty smell molecules. But the sausages can be left out, or cooked on the side.
Another possibly annoying thing about this recipe is that while I’m sure it could be adapted to use tinned beans, dried beans are pretty fundamental, because after soaking and a preliminary kickstart short boil (which could be adapted to a pressure cooker), the beans cook along with the other vegetables. And, as they do, they provide a tasty, cloudy bean broth that is the body of this dense and richly flavoured bean, herb and optional sausage soup-stew.
The texture of the dish should be somewhere between a soup and a stew – dense, but not so much that a spoon stands upright – so, while it’s simmering, keep an eye out and if at any point the pan looks dry, add a little more water. The dish also benefits from a rest, but remember it will get even denser as it sits. If that’s the case, just add a little more warm water and, if needed, salt. Just before serving, stir through a handful of chopped parsley and some more olive oil, and some chopped red chilli, if you like.
Bean stew with optional sausage and lots of herbs
Serves 4-6
5 tbsp olive oil
500g dried mixed beans/peas, such as borlotti, cannellini, carlin, soaked for 12 hours, then drained
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled but whole
2 sausages (optional), squeezed from the skin and crumbled
2 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped, or 4 tinned plum tomatoes
1 small handful sage
1 sprig rosemary
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm x 3cm cubes
1 small handful parsley, chopped
Cover the soaked beans with fresh water, bring to a boil for 15 minutes, then drain and rinse.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a low heat, add the onion, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and fry until soft and fragrant.
If you want to include the sausages, do so now, moving them around until they have lost their pink, then add the tomatoes, crushing them against the side of the pan.
Stir in the sage, rosemary, potato, beans and another small pinch of salt, then simmer for a minute more. Cover with hot water and cook gently for 90 minutes, or until the beans and potato are soft. Again, this second stage could be adapted to a pressure cooker (Catherine Phipps is a great guide for all things pressure cooking, both her books and her memorably titled Substack, Catherine is Under Pressure). The dish should be soupy (although not flooded), so if at any point the pan looks dry, add more water.
To serve, stir through the chopped parsley, and add some more olive oil and some chopped red chilli, if you like.