I came across this dish in Italy many years ago and that discovery is the basis of the recipe below, patiently prized out of "Mama" with flattery and making a point of reminding her that it was the second night in a row I had turned up for dinner in her tiny osteria. But, you can encounter versions of it all across Mediterranean Europe, from Spain to Greece. Of course, some of the ingredients and spices change, but the principle is the same.
This recipe is for two adult diners. Get out the calculator out if you need to convert the ingredient quantities.
Shopping list
3 pork sausages per diner — you can also opt for beef or Italian sausages mixing pork and beef, as Mama told me (apparently, in winter months, substitute half of the sausages with thick slices of a fattier dried sausage, such as salami)
3 cloves of garlic; finely chopped or grated
1 tspn turmeric
3 to 4 large stems of celery cut into large 3cm segments; rustic-style
3 to 4 large carrots, peeled or scrubbed and cut into thick slices
A handful of flat leaf parsley and the same of coriander, both coarsely chopped
400g cooked cannellini beans; tinned or dried and pre-cooked
Approx. 6 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of vegetable stock; or the equivalent diluted from a jelly/cube
½ glass wine; white or red
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
Cooking method
In a large pot with a lid, heat the olive oil on a high heat, add the cubed onion and stir vigorously, then cover and allow the onions to sweat for a few minutes
Add the garlic to the onion and stir both, ensuring they don't stick. When they soften but are not yet brown, reduce the heat to medium. Push the onion and garlic to the outer edge of the pot. Add the sausages to the empty space at the centre of the pot
Seal the sausages entirely, pricking with a fork so that they do not burst. The aim is not to cook the sausages, but to sear them. So, though it's fine if the skin browns here and there, keep turning them to prevent them from fully cooking. When the pot's contents become dry or begin to stick, add a little of the stock, turmeric, salt, pepper and, while this is boiling off, add the wine. Cover and allow to simmer for 5 mins, stirring to prevent sticking if required
When the liquid has largely cooked off, add the rest of the liquid stock, the chopped carrots and celery. If necessary, add additional hot water so that the ingredients are about ¾ immersed in liquid. Turn up the heat to high and bring back to the boil. Cover and allow to boil vigorously for a further 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally
Turn down to a low heat and simmer for about another 30 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the cannellini beans and top up with a little more water if needed. Throw the coriander and flat leaf parsley into the pot, so that it sits on top of the other ingredients. Cover and simmer for at least another 20 mins on a very low heat before stirring, if needed
This is one of those dishes that benefits from cooking for longer over a very low heat. However, make sure you stop cooking before the broth reduces into a sauce or the cannellini beans disintegrate. Even though you want the broth to thicken, it isn't meant to be a "sauce". Top up with a little water at a time if needed, stirring in with a wooden spoon. Ideally, when the dish is ready to serve, you want a fair amount of tasty broth in the pot that you will include in the plating. Also, remember that these sausages have effectively been "poached" so don't expect them to brown: they should remain fairly pale
Plate in bowls or deep plates, ensuring that you spoon the broth over the sausages and vegetables. Serve with rustic bread and a side dish of salad, steamed cabbage, kale or cavolo nero
You can freeze this dish and/or safely store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. It's one of those dishes where leftovers make a great lunch reheated the next day.
Pairings
This is a delicious everyday dish and, as such, I have never tried it with fancy schmancy wines, even though we all know who could tells us the directions to take. My approach to pairing with this one is laughable; entirely nostalgia-driven. I always try and drink it with the types of wine with which I first ate the dish in rural northern Italy. Whenever I can find it at a reasonable price in the supermarket, I opt for a workable Barbera d'Asti. But that joy gets rarer and rarer. Frankly, there are many reds that work with it; heavier in winter, lighter in summer. See what you reckon.
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