Rachel Roddy's Rustic Roman Sausage and Bean Stew Recipe
Rachel Roddy's salsicce e cannellini, or beans, greens and sausages, offers a comforting and rustic plate inspired by a trip to a traditional Roman trattoria. This dish combines rich flavours and simple ingredients for a satisfying meal.
The Benefits of Cooking with Beans
The advantage of soaking and cooking your own beans includes less packaging, cost savings, and the flavourful starchy bean cooking water. A 500g bag of dried beans costing £2.50 yields 1.5kg cooked beans, while some 400g tins can cost similar amounts. However, tinned beans provide almost instant joy, just a ring-pull away—unless the ring-pull comes off prematurely, turning the tin into a door without a knob and leaving you to search for a tin opener or use a pointy parmesan knife.
Inspiration from Dal Cordaro Trattoria
This recipe originated from a meal at Dal Cordaro, a hard-working trattoria near Porta Portese in Rome. Everything ordered, including braised artichokes and oxtail stew, was pleasing, but the plate of beans in a rich, orange-tinted tomato sauce with poached sausages and escarole greens stood out as a satisfying idea to bring home.
Flavour Profile and Adaptability
The dish has a comforting quality reminiscent of both homemade baked beans and breakfast-in-a-tin, with plump, slightly jellied sausages from poaching in sauce. It works well with 100% pork sausages with fennel seeds, sausages with rusk, or seitan bratwurst. This accommodating recipe can also use soaked and cooked beans with a bit of cooking broth.
Serving Suggestions
While beans, greens, and sausages make a complete meal, this stew welcomes thick slices of toast rubbed with garlic and brushed with melted butter or olive oil for mopping up sauce. At Dal Cordaro, they serve cherry and ricotta tart or seasonal fruit like fanned pineapple, making a wonderful pudding.
Recipe: Beans with Greens and Sausages
Serves 4
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4-8 pork or vegetarian sausages
- 1 large onion, peeled and diced
- 1 sprig sage
- 400g tin peeled plum tomatoes, crushed or passed through a food mill
- 1 tsp tomato concentrate
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 400g tins borlotti or cannellini beans, drained well
- 250g greens – spinach or endive
In a heavy-based pan on medium-low heat, warm two tablespoons of oil, add sausages, and brown lightly on all sides. Remove sausages. Add remaining oil to the hot fat, stir in onion until soft, then add sage, tomatoes, tomato concentrate, chilli flakes, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, pressing tomatoes to break lumps.
Add a glass of warm water, return sausages, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, turning regularly and adding water if needed. Once sausages are cooked, stir in drained beans, simmer for five minutes, add greens until wilted. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve.
