Themed Meal: Tuscan White Beans

These beans had great reviews and were promoted as great cold-weather comfort food, but although they were good, they were not AMAZING, and I am going to have to make them again before I completely decide to make these for my theme meal. First of all, they took 2 1/2 hours to cook, which may or may not have been because I kept steaming off the bean broth. Second, maybe I just don't understand how to cook dried beans, but "boiling the beans until 3/4 done" doesn't mean anything to me. I ended up just boiling them for an hour and fifteen minutes and transferring them to the other pot because I don't want them to "go soft on me", but I'm not sure why since they are going to get soft when they stew in the tomato mixture. Anyways, bitterness and confusion aside, I'm going to give the recipe another chance, and maybe with this experience under my belt (and a little google research), I can do better.

Fagiuoli all'Uccelletto

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 60 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pound (500 g) dried canellini (white beans), soaked for 3 hours.

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

7-8 leaves of fresh sage

1-2 peeled fresh plum tomatoes or a small can of tomatoes

Boiling water

Salt and pepper to taste

8 Italian link sausages (optional; see below)

Preparation:

If you choose to serve Fagiuoli all'Uccelletto with sausages, you'll want freshly made mild Italian sausages, or perhaps a mixture of mild and other kinds (e.g. garlic or pepper-laced), so long as the spiced sausages aren't so strong they'll overpower the beans. Depending upon the size of the sausages and the appetites of your diners, figure two or more sausages per person.

In any case, begin by boiling the beans until 3/4 done in lightly salted water. This will take about an hour, though you should begin checking them after a half hour. You don't want them to go soft on you. If you are including sausages, prick their skins lightly with a fork and simmer them in boiling water to cover for 15 minutes to render out some of the fat.

Once the beans are 3/4 done, set the olive oil to heat over a medium flame, in a heavy bottomed clay pot or dutch oven. When the oil's hot, add the garlic and the sage (not more than seven or eight leaves; too much sage will make the beans bitter). Cook until the sage crackles and the garlic is lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes, then add the beans and bean broth to cover. Season the beans with salt and pepper, add the sausages, and simmer everything until the beans are quite soft, stirring occasionally and adding bean broth as necessary to keep things from drying out.

Serves four, and you will want a tossed green salad with several varieties of radicchio (arugola) to go with it. The wine? A light, zesty Chianti Classico d'Annata (le Corte Corsini's Chianti Classico comes to mind).





http://italianfood.about.com/od/beans/r/blr0644.htm