Italian Sausage and White Bean Stew

This is one of those that I wasn't sure would thrill me to death, but went with it for the sake of finding something that might just unexpectedly twang my thing. After all, I do like sausage and beans and peppers, so why wouldn't it work?

Going into the recipe I deviated by using one pound instead of 1.25 lbs of sausage.

Italian Sausage and White Bean Stew
from Cooking Club magazine Fall 2013
click to print

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb mild Italian sausage links, cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 c baby-cut carrots, thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 (14-oz) cans cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
1 c lower-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil; heat until hot.


Cook sausage 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally to brown all sides.


Add bell pepper and carrots; cook 1 minute over medium heat, stirring frequently.


Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant.


Stir in all remaining ingredients; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.


Reduce heat to medium-low to low; simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thickened and sausage is thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center.



Easy to prep, the execution of the dish took less than thirty minutes, yielding a hot, filling meal. The flavors went very well together and I liked the various textures. When reducing the liquid I simmered just a few minutes longer than 15 minutes to make it thicker than what most would probably prefer. Doing so, many of the beans split open and that gave even more texture variation.

Cutting the sausage quantity by a quarter pound didn't leave me thinking the sausage was lacking so pick a package with a flavor you like rather than buying something else because the package size fits. Not that long ago I would've gone that.

Cost:

• extra-virgin olive oil: $0.18
• mild Italian sausage links: $2.99
• red bell pepper: $1
• carrots: $0.50
• garlic cloves: $0.20
• cannellini beans: $2.58
• broth: $0.13
• fresh rosemary: $0.25

Total: $7.88 or about $1.97 for each of four servings.