sausage + broccoletti + fave beans

When it comes to preparing a meal I can be a bit of a control freak. I’m not one of those people who easily welcomes others into my kitchen to lend a hand. It’s either me, in charge of everything, or it’s you. I can’t stand it when people get in my way, and I definitely like things done just so.

That’s not to say I don’t welcome sous-chefs. If you’d like to help chop, peel or clean, that’s fine by me. As long as you do it my way.

One thing I have loosened up on over the last few years is the shopping end of things. Sometimes the idea of getting in the car, heading to the market and deciding what to buy just seems like too much work. So this past weekend, while we were up in Todi, with a house full of guests, I decided to hand over the food procurement to Domenico. As he was heading off to the supermarket in town he asked me for the grocery list.

“There is none,” I answered.

“So, what am I supposed to get?” he asked, looking a bit worried.

“Oh, just get some meat and some vegetables. Something easy.”

In one fell swoop I had delegated both the shopping and the menu planning.

Here is what Domenico came home with:

• 5 kilos of pork ribs
• 2 kilos of sausages
• 1 kilo of broccoletti
• 1/2 kilo of sorry looking fave beans

I’m not quite sure what Domenico was thinking as he loaded up the shopping cart with enough pork ribs to feed an army, but I was quite happy with all the other items. As I divided the ribs into separate packs to freeze for future use, I decided to use everything else to make a big one dish  for Sunday lunch.

My go to meal in Todi is usually grilled sausages. Since we always have the fireplace going, it’s easy enough to prepare without much fuss. And I could have done that this time, but what to do with the not-quite-enough amounts of broccoletti and fave? They would have cooked down to way too little to serve as a side dish, but turned out to be just the right amount to lend a green element to a sausage saute.

While I enlisted Gillian to pod the fave, I began browning the sausages. The trick to getting this dish right is to really let the sausages brown. It’s those deep mahogany bits that stick to the bottom of the pan that will end up lending flavor to the greens.

Once that part was done, the rest was easy. All it needed was a freshly grilled slice of bruschetta (since the fire was going anyway) and Sunday lunch was on the table.

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sausage + broccoletti + fave

Prep 20 mins

Cook 1 hour

Total 1 hour, 20 mins

Author Elizabeth

Yield 6

An easy one dish meal.

Ingredients

• 2 kilos mixed Italian sausages
• 1 pound / 1/2 kilo of fave beans in their pod
• 2 pounds / 1 kilo broccoletti (broccoli rabe)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt

Instructions

1. Cut the sausages in half
2. Take the fave beans out of their pod, but you do not have to double shell them.
3. Trim the broccoletti of any tough stems, and chop roughly into 3 inch pieces.
4. Pour the olive oil into a large sautè pan, and heat over medium high flame.
5. When oil is hot, add the sausages, only turning them once they have browned very well. Make sure not to crowd the pan, the sausages should all be in one layer and easy to turn. When they are all evenly and well browned, remove them to a plate.
6. Add the chopped greens to the pan, along with a cup of water. Using a wooden spoon, stir the greens, while scraping up the browned bits of fat and sausage.
7. Once the greens have cooked down a bit, add the fave beans, along with about a teaspoon of salt. Stir, and add a bit more water if it seems dry. Cover the pan, and let cook for 10 minutes, until the greens are well wilted, and the beans have begun to shrivel a bit and cook.
8. Add the sausage back to the pan, and continue to cook about another 20 minutes.
9. Serve with thick slices of bruschetta (toasted bread with olive oil, garlic and salt)

Notes

I used sweet sausages, a mix of luganica and regular ones, because that is what Domenico came home with. But by all means, try it out with something a bit more spicy. I think the mix of broccoletti and fave beans would stand up to a bit of heat.

Courses Main Dish

Cuisine Italian