Salsicce e fagioli (Sausages and beans)

This weeks theme is " bean there done that" at the I Heart Cooking Club. To get my bean on i made this rustic dish from Tessa Kiros's first book twelve. After eating it i understood why the tuscans love this dish so much. It's on my list of comfort foods now!

Tessa Kiros says, "Tuscans are well known for their love of beans, and this rustic recipe is one of their favorites".

Salsicce e fagioli



Tessa Kiros, Twelve(p.56)

Serves 6

500G(1 lb 2 oz) dried cannellini, soaked overnight in cold water
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 sprigs of sage
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 large Italian pork sausages, about 100g(3½ oz) each
400G(14oz) tin peeled tomatoes, with their juice, chopped

Rinse the beans and put them into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Skim the surface of the scum with a slotted spoon. Add 2 whole garlic cloves and one of the sage Sprigs. Cook for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper in the last half hour of the cooking time.
In a separate large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Prick the sausages in couple of places with a fork and add them to the pan. Fry on a medium-high heat to brown on all sides. Add the remaining garlic clove and the sage, and as soon as it begins to sizzle ad the tomatoes. The sausages should provide enough Seasoning; if not add a little salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have melted into a sauce.
Drain the cooked beans, reserving a little of the cooking liquid and add the beans to THE sausage pot. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessery. Simmer for 10 minutes more, adding about 125-250 ml(1/2-1cup)of the reserved water to thin it out a little. Serve warm.

Notes: could not get any fresh sage at the moment so i used dried Sage.