Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew with Sausage & Cabbage

By Dr_Mom

We were determined to avoid tough, exploded beans in our Tuscan bean stew recipe, so we soaked the beans overnight in salted water, which softened the skins. Then we experimented with cooking times and temperatures, discovering that gently cooking the beans in a 250-degree oven produced perfectly cooked beans that stayed intact. To complete our bean stew recipe, we added tomatoes toward the end of cooking, since their acid kept the beans from becoming too soft.

Ingredients

• Table salt
• 1 pound dried cannellini beans (about 2 cups), rinsed and picked over
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 medium head savoy cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can tomatoes, diced, drained and rinsed
• 1 sprig fresh oregano leaves
• Ground black pepper
• 8 slices country white bread, each 1 1/4 inches thick, broiled until golden brown on both sides and rubbed with garlic clove, optional

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 1600mins
Cooking time 1700mins
Adapted from cooksillustrated.com

Preparation

Step 1

Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil and sausage in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon until it loses its raw color, about 8 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate and place in refrigerator.

Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 10 to 16 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, water, bay leaves, and soaked beans. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are almost tender (very center of beans will still be firm), 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove pot from oven and stir in greens, sausage, and tomatoes. Return pot to oven and continue to cook until beans and greens are fully tender, 30 to 40 minutes longer.

Remove pot from oven and submerge oregano sprig in stew. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and oregano sprig and season stew with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, use back of spoon to press some beans against side of pot to thicken stew.

Serve over toasted bread, if desired, and drizzle with olive oil.