Ok, I don’t know if you all remember but several months ago..yea, its been awhile, I was writing about great reasons to incorporate more beans/lentils/any high fiber foods in your diet. Anyone remember? Lowers cholesterol, maintains blood sugar (no sugar rush) etc. Anyway, I had mentioned that I wanted to make more dishes that included beans. I haven’t made a good bean dish in a while and I decided that today would be a good day to change that. If you aren’t a big bean fan, Cannellini beans are a pretty good way to start. It has a mild nutty flavor and makes whatever sauce you are making, really creamy. I paired them with chicken sausage that was seasoned Italian style with roasted peppers. The combination make a delicious creamy soup with a small kick to it. The whole house smells like it now and even though I am full, I still want more.
I served it with some No-Knead Bread. For those of you who want to make bread but don’t have the time, this is the bread you should make. In the morning, mix together 4 ingredients: Flour, Yeast, Salt and Water and that’s it, leave it alone, covered for the rest of the day and bake it right before you start prepping for dinner. By the time you have dinner made and on the table, you will have fresh bread. I also decided to experiment with cocktails. My husband is normally the bartender in the house but I wanted to give it a try. I made a drink called “Dark and Stormy which called for 2 oz of rum, 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice and 6 oz of ginger ale. Normally, this drink is made with dark rum and ginger beer, but alas I had none. The drink was pleasant and I will definitely make it again.
This recipe can be made in the oven or stove top with the same cooking time. If you are making this on the stove top, keep the flame on medium-low and stir occasionally to prevent the ingredients from sticking. If you are going to cook this in the oven, make sure you have an oven safe lid.
Ingredients:
6 oz of Chicken Sausage – Italian Style with Roasted Peppers, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
2-3 large carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons of garlic, chopped
2 (14 oz) cans of Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups of low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour (Use Cornstarch or omit)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300F (omit if cooking on stove top)
- In a large oven safe pot, with lid (or regular large pot with lid, if making this on stove top), brown sausage pieces and then set aside.
- Melt butter and saute carrots, onions and celery until onions and celery are tender.
- Add garlic and saute an additional minute.
- Add flour and cook flour with vegetables for 2-3 minutes.
- Deglace the bottom of the pot with a little bit of chicken broth. Brown bits are your friends!
- Add beans, sausage, remaining broth, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring pot to a boil
- Place lid on pot and place pot in oven. (Stove top, place lid on top of pot, lower the temperature to a medium low)
- Cook for 1 1/2 hours. (If cooking on stove top, stir frequently)
- After 1 1/2 hours, remove pot from oven and taste for salt.
- Add apple cider vinegar and low cook the stew for an additional 15 minutes to thicken stew. If you are not using flour and do not wish to use cornstarch but want the stew to be thickened more, take about 1 cup of beans from the pot, mashed them and return to pot. That will thicken things nicely.
Serve with your favorite bread.
Samina Cooks 