Fagiolata – bean stew with bratwurst

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 400 g beans (borlotti or white beans) or
• 2 small cans of beans
• possibly water for soaking
• e.g. water for boiling
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 4 pork sausages, coarse (Salsicce)
• 200 g smoked pork belly (bacon)
• 200 g tomatoes, peeled, pitted, chopped or
• ½ small can of tomatoes, chopped
• 1 onion(s)
• ½ stalk(s) celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 leaves of sage or 1 pinch of sage powder
• 1 jar white wine, dry
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, cold squeezed
• salt and pepper
• some slices of white bread, toasted
• 1 peperoncini, if desired

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 16 hours 30 minutes

a dish from northern Piedmont

If using dried beans, soak them overnight in cold water. Discard the soaking water. Boil the beans with a clove of garlic in unsalted water for about 2-3 hours until soft. Finely chop 1 onion and 1/2 celery stick. Peel the skin off the sausages. In a pot (large enough to hold the beans), heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion and celery. If using canned beans, add a finely chopped clove of garlic. Add the sausages and fry, breaking them up with a large-pronged fork. Add the bay leaf, sage leaves, and the bacon. Deglaze with a glass of dry white wine, add the tomatoes and beans, and add enough of the cooking liquid to create a stew-like consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for another 1/2 hour. Remove the bacon. If you like, you can also chop the bacon into small pieces and mix it back into the stew (but be careful, some types of bacon develop a strange aftertaste during the cooking process). Serve with toasted white bread. You can also add a chili pepper.