Sausage, White Beans and Tomato Stew

This sausage, white beans and tomato stew, my friends, is one of my favorite pantry meals, hands down. I almost always have the ingredients for it, even in a pandemic, my kids will always eat it, and the leftovers—if any make it—are sublime for several days.

Sausage Love

You start with your favorite Italian sausage. Mine happens to come from Giacomo’s on the Hill, here in Easton. I try to buy a couple pounds at a time of their fennel sausage (or the plain, or the parsley and cheese, depending on what’s available). I will cut about a pound of it into 4-5 inch pieces, wrap it in aluminum foil, and then pop it into a ziptop bag. And label the bag, accordingly.

If I am dealing with the sausage immediately, I cut the sausage into link-like pieces (about a half to a full pound, depending) and cook to just to brown it for maybe 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan and set it aside. (I like to do this in a cast iron pan—Stargazer, a local company, is my current favorite.) Then, I start the onion in a Dutch oven over medium heat, adding the herbs, salt and pepper, the chopped pepper, tomatoes, white beans, greens, and so forth. It’s pretty adaptable, but the sausage gives it a ton of taste.

A Word About Cheese

Before serving, I like to sprinkle this soup with Pecorino Romano, simply because it’s got a bit more assertiveness to it, but a good quality Parmesan will work, too. But know what’s even better? Parm Rinds!

Do you wonder what to do with those old rinds of Parmesan or other hard nutty Italian cheeses? (Or Spanish ones, let’s not discriminate). Stick them the freezer. Pop one into your soup or stew, and you’ve got an umami-punch that no one will be able to really detect but will permeate your soup with so much tastiness. I’d suggest doing it for this soup in particular, if you’ve got one, but I’m not putting it on the ingredient list because I didn’t have one. Just pop it in about halfway through the process of cooking and remove before serving. If you want. It will get a little gooey in there, but that’s the point!

Make-Ahead!

This dish is so easy, and you can cook it and let it sit a little bit if need be over low heat. If some of the liquid evaporates, just add a little more water. (I like to save the tomato can and fill it with water so you get some tomato-ey water if you need more.)

Here’s what you do.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (or less) Italian sausage

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil of your choice

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or equal parts of dried oregano, parsley marjoram, fennel—customize to your liking depending on what the spice rack yields.)

• 1 medium bell pepper (or other frying-type sweet pepper), chopped

• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

• 1 (15.5-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained (or approximately 1 1/2 cups cooked)

• 2 cups Tuscan kale, cut into thin strips, or baby spinach, left whole

• Salt and pepper to taste, always

• Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

Cook the sausage in a cast iron pan for about 5 minutes until it browns on all sides and starts to release juices. Remove from the pan, set aside to cook on a cutting board. When the sausage is cool, slice it thinly.

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the onions, stirring to coat. Add the seasonings, and let the onions soften, about five minutes. You want them to start to take on a little bit of color, but not burn. (Most people don’t let their onions cook long enough.) Add the chopped peppers, and cook over medium heat for a few minutes, just to soften.

Add the canned tomatoes with all their juices. If it looks too scant, add half a can’s worth more. Cover and bring to a boil, briefly. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the beans. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to warm through.

Add the sliced kale right before serving, toss it in to gently wilt. Sprinkle Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper on top, stir. Taste. Top with pecorino and chopped parsley, if desired.

Serves 4-6, depending on size of bowls and appetite.