Borlotti Beans With Hot Italian Sausage Recipes

CANNELLINI BEANS AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large bowl with water, using your hand swirl the beans around to rinse them and discard any small stones or beans that look brown. Drain the beans in a colander, rinse and refill the bowl with beans and a generous amount of water (at least 2-3 inches above the beans) and let soak overnight or for at least 6 hours.
• Drain the beans, rinse well and place in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add 7 cups water, 5 of the sage leaves, the tomato halves and bring to a boil uncovered over med-high heat. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered until the beans are tender 1 1/2 - 2 hours, be sure to test for doneness. Drain and reserve the beans, discard the sage and tomato halves.
• In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, 5 remaining sage leaves, onions, carrots, celery, red pepper flakes and saute for 8-10 minutes until the ingredients are soft and translucent. Stir in the cooked beans and crushed tomatoes. Add the salt, pepper and the chicken stock. Stir together and simmer gently, when all ingredients are combined and warmed, stir in the mascarpone cheese until melted and evenly folded into the tomato and bean mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover saucepan to keep warm and turn off heat until ready to serve.
• Cook the sausage by braising or grilling. Once the sausages are cooked, transfer them to a cutting board and cut into halves or thirds. Transfer the warm beans to individual bowls and arrange sausage pieces on top. Garnish with a sprig of fresh sage.
• * To Serve 4-5, prepare the same recipe with 1 package of Johnsonville Italian sausage.
• * mascarpone cheese is a mild flavored, creamy Italian cheese and can be found in the specialty cheese section of most grocery stores.

HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Place the ground pork into a large bowl. Season with salt, garlic salt, black pepper and paprika. In a blender or food processor, blend together the oil, anise seed, fennel seed and red pepper flakes. Mix everything into the ground pork until well blended. Refrigerate for 24 hours to let flavors blend. Bag and freeze in portions that suit your needs.

BORLOTTI BEANS WITH HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Place Borlotti beans, garlic cloves and 1-bay leaf in a bowl. Cover with water and soak over night. Rinse under cold water before using.
• Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
• In a Dutch oven melt butter, add olive oil and bay leaves. Add Italian sausages and brown on all sides. Remove sausages and place on a sheet pan with parchment paper. Bake Italian Sausages for 20-minutes. Hold sausages for service.
• Add onions, Serrano pepper and sauté until tender. Add chopped garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes.
• Add Pinot Noir Wine and reduce by half. Add Fresh Herbs, season with fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.
• Add Ham Stock, Borlotti Beans and bring to a full boil. Cover the beans, reduce to a simmer for 1-hour or until Borlotti Beans are tender. Stir the pot several times to prevent beans from burning.
• Add the cooked Hot Italian Sausages and simmer for 15-minutes.
• Season the beans with fine sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Serve in warm soup bowls.
• Garnish the beans with Fresh Chopped Green Onions.

RISOTTO WITH SAUSAGE AND CRANBERRY (BORLOTTI) BEANS

Steps:

• If using fresh beans, shell them, put them in a pot with enough cold, unsalted water to cover by about two inches, bring the water to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook at a slow, steady pace until tender, about 45 minutes to one hour. Let them steep in their liquid until ready to use. If using dried beans, soak them overnight or for at least six hours, drain, then boil them in a fresh change of water untl tender. Let them steep in their liquid until ready to use.
• Put the oil and chopped onion in a medium skillet, turn on the heat to medium, and cook the onions, stirring frequently until translucent but not coloured. Add the crumbled sausage and cook it, turning it over with a wooden spoon, until it becomes coloured a rich brown all over.
• Retrieve the cooked beans from their pot, using a colander spoon or another slotted spoon, and put them in the skillet. Add one or two tablespoons of water from the bean pot, and mash about half the beans, pressing them against the bottom of the skillet with the wooden spoon.
• Cook for about a minute, turning the contents of the pot over with the spoon from time to time. Pour the broth into a saucepan, bringing it to the boil and keeping it at a slow, sputtering simmer.
• Place the heavy-bottomed saucepan where you'll be making the risotto on the burner nearest to the broth, empty the contents of the skillet into it, and turn the heat under the risotto pot to medium high. Stir, and when the beans and sausages are sizzling hot, add the rice. Stir quickly and thoroughly to coat the rice well.
• Add one cup of simmering broth, and cook the rice, stirring it and periodically adding liquid. Finish cooking the rice, stirring always and adding broth when needed, until tender but firm to the bite, about 25 minutes.
• Take the pot off the heat and do the mantecare step, swirling in the butter and Parmesan, turning the risotto over four or five times. Add the chopped parsley, salt and ground pepper to taste, stir once or twice more; transfer to a warm platter and serve at once.
• What is mantecare? Mantecare is the final step of making risotto. The word is borrowed from the Spanish for butter, mantequilla. In Italian it means to work butter or cream into what you are cooking to give it a soft consistency. In making risotto you do this when the risotto is cooked but is still steaming in the pot. Add a tablespoon or so of butter and some freshly grated cheese, and swirl them in to combine. It is the final and best touch, giving the risotto its great consistency.

BROCCOLI RABE WITH HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and blanch for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
• Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking up the sausage with the back of a fork until crumbly. When the sausage begins to release its fat, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the sausage is browned, about 7 minutes. Pour off as much of the fat as possible.
• Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the chicken broth. Lay the broccoli rabe over the sausage, season with the salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook until the broccoli rabe is tender, about 10 minutes.
• Divide the broccoli rabe among 4 plates. Spoon the sausage and broth over it and serve immediately with roasted potatoes.