Tuscan-Style Bean Stew

Name: Tuscan-Style Bean Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 tbsp Tomato Purée; 190ml White Wine; 4 large slices Crusty Bread, or white rice; 280g Passata; 480ml Chicken Stock; 1.5 tsp Dried Sage; 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 1 tsp Fennel Seeds; 2 Onions, finely diced; 8 Garlic Cloves, chopped; 1 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Black Pepper; 500g Italian Sausages, skin removed and sliced (regular sausages work just fine, if you can’t find Italian); 2 tins Tinned Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed

by Xavier Bramble

Pork

Dairy Free

10m prep time

60m total time

Easy level

14 ingredients

Tuscan-Style Bean Stew recipe by Xavier Bramble

Inspired by the Tuscan classic fagioli all’uccelletto, this is a classic summertime stew. During a trip to Tuscany, I ate some absolutely divine plates of food, including this one. It was served as a side dish to other meats (traditionally, game birds, hence the translation of its Italian name: ‘beans of the little bird’). Imagine eating it my favourite way – with a glass of crisp, cold white wine and the warm Italian sun on your skin. There are few things – if any – that are better.

Method

Based on 4 servings, adjust as needed.

Step 1

Heat a large stew pot on a medium heat and add the extra virgin olive oil. Once hot, add the fennel seeds and toast them until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the Italian sausages meat and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring, until lightly browned, then add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, until soft.

Step 2

Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for 5 minutes, until the purée turns a dark red colour, but is not burnt. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and let it reduce by half (about 10 minutes).

Step 3

Add the passata, chicken stock, sage and a pinch of pepper.

Step 4

Bring the liquid to the boil and cover the pot with the lid. Reduce the heat, then simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, if necessary, then add the beans and mix well. Preheat the oven if serving with part-baked bread.

Step 5

Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until the beans are warmed through. Season again with salt to taste, if needed, and serve with some bread or rice.

Ingredients
Based on 4 servings

4 tbsp Tomato Purée 1 x Sainsbury's Tomato Puree, Double Concentrate 200g
190ml White Wine 2 x Sainsbury's House Pinot Grigio White Wine (Small bottle) 18.7cl
4 large slices Crusty Bread, or white rice 1 x Sainsbury's Bake at Home White Baguettes x2
280g Passata 1 x Sainsbury's Passata 500g
480ml Chicken Stock 1 x Sainsbury's Stock Cubes, Chicken 10x10g
1.5 tsp Dried Sage 1 x Sainsbury's Sage 13g
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 x Sainsbury's Olive Oil, Extra Virgin 250ml
1 tsp Fennel Seeds 1 x Sainsbury's Fennel Seed 34g
2 Onions, finely diced 2 x Sainsbury's Onions Loose
8 Garlic Cloves, chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Garlic
1 tsp Salt 1 x Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 250g
1 tsp Black Pepper 1 x Santa Maria Extra Fine Selection of Spices Tellicherry Black Pepper
500g Italian Sausages, skin removed and sliced (regular sausages work just fine, if you can’t find Italian) 1 x Sainsbury's Toulouse Inspired Sausages, Taste the Difference x6 400g
2 tins Tinned Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed 2 x Sainsbury's Cannellini Beans In Water 400g (235g*)