Bean stew with sausages and potatoes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g beans, thick, dried
• Water for soaking
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 100 ml red wine
• 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 stalk(s) leek, cut into small rings
• 1 onion(s), chopped
• 2 clove(s) garlic, chopped
• 5 small potatoes, mostly waxy, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• some savory or thyme
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• 3 sausages (Wiener), cut into thin slices
• 150 g bacon, sliced
• 1 chili pepper(s), finely chopped, possibly pitted.
• some tomato paste or chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp oil or clarified butter
• 1 bay leaf, if desired

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 14 hours 15 minutes

Soak the beans in cold water for 12 hours. Brown the bacon, onions, chili, and garlic in a little oil or clarified butter in a large pot. Add the carrots and leeks and fry for 2-3 minutes. Deglaze with red wine and top up with vegetable stock. Add the drained beans and simmer for a good hour over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and simmer for another half hour. Add the sausages. When the potatoes and beans are nice and tender, season with pepper, salt, balsamic vinegar, savory, and nutmeg. If you like, you can add tomato paste; it simply adds a nicer color. You can also cook a can of diced tomatoes; that tastes very good too. The consistency depends on the consistency—sometimes half a liter of stock is enough, sometimes I need almost a whole liter. If you don’t have savory on hand, use thyme. Both taste very similar. A bay leaf rounds things off. Simply add it to the boil at the beginning.