Cannellini Beans With Pancetta Fried Sage And Grilled Sausages Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat a grill over medium heat.
• Place the sausages on the grill and cook until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes, turning every 4 to 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, Italian seasoning, reserved juice from the can of tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the dressing for the Round 2 Recipe Three Layer Bean Dip. Add the beans, diced tomatoes and basil, and toss to coat. Reserve 1 cup of the bean mixture for the Round 2 Recipe Three Layer Bean Dip. Serve the remaining beans with the grilled sausage.
• Round 2 Recipe - Three Layer Bean Dip:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread the pita wedges on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until crispy, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely
• In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and lemon zest and mix until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture into the bottom of a medium dip bowl.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the red beans, reserved dressing and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, and puree until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, then add a few tablespoons of water to thin. Spread the bean puree over the cream cheese mixture.
• Combine the reserved Tuscan Beans with the red onions and spoon on top of the pureed beans. Serve with toasted pita chips on the side.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add green pepper and onion; saute until tender. Drain. Add remaining ingredients., Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour. Uncover; bake 20-30 minutes longer or until bubbly.

Steps:

• Put beans in a large bowl; cover with cold water by 2 inches. Loosely cover; let soak overnight at room temperature.
• Drain beans; transfer to a large saucepan. Cover with cold water by 2 inches; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, adding more water if necessary to keep beans covered, until beans are tender (add 1 teaspoon salt after 45 minutes), about 1 hour. Drain beans; set aside.
• Heat 1 inch vegetable oil in a 4-quart heavy-bottom saucepan until it registers 365 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in small batches, fry sage leaves, turning them occasionally, until crisp, about 10 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Immediately season with salt. (Adjust heat between batches as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature.) Coarsely crumble two-thirds of the sage leaves; set aside. Set aside whole leaves.
• Cook pancetta in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, turning once, until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain. Reserve fat in skillet with heat off. Coarsely crumble pancetta; set aside.
• Preheat grill to medium. (Alternatively, heat a grill pan over medium heat until hot.) Grill sausages, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 3 to 6 minutes (cooking time will depend on size of links and whether sausages are precooked). Transfer to a serving platter; cover to keep warm.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to reserved fat in skillet, and heat over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add reserved beans and the red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until warm, about 2 minutes.
• Put beans in a large serving bowl, and add reserved crumbled pancetta and crumbled sage leaves, along with the truffle oil, if desired, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Season with pepper.
• Just before serving, drizzle beans with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and garnish with reserved whole sage leaves. Serve with sausages.

Steps:

• Put the dried beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak the beans overnight in the refrigerator.
• Drain the soaked beans, place them in a large pot and cover with fresh cold water. Put the beans over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Toss in the bay leaves and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 11/2 hours until tender. Drain the cooked beans and spread them out on a sheet pan to cool slightly.
• Put about 1/2 cup of flour in a shallow platter and season it with salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Toss the beans in the seasoned flour to coat completely.
• Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta, fry for a couple of minutes to crisp it up. Toss in the sage leaves and fry for about 1 minute. Remove the pancetta and sage to some paper towels; now you have a flavor base. Shake off excess flour from the beans and put them in the pan in a single layer. Fry the beans for a good 10 minutes to form a golden crust on the outside of the beans, tossing to cook both sides.
• Return the pancetta and fried sage to the pan, stir everything together, and serve.

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Serve at room temperature.
• DRY BEANS DIRECTIONS: May use 1-1/4 cups dried cannellini beans or 1/2 pound great northern beans, soaked overnight.
• Drain soaked beans.
• Place beans and onion in a medium pot; cover with 2 quarts of water. Simmer 30 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper.
• Cook 30 minutes more or until tender but not mushy.
• Drain. Place in a large bowl and cool.
• When cool, stir in the remaining ingredients.
• Serve at room temperature.
• TIP: For those who don't like celery, use a vegetable peeler to remove the stringy bits on the back of the stalk. This makes the flavor milder and the texture more palatable.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Brown sausages in oil till done, drain and slice into rounds.
• In large bowl, combine sausage, spinach, beans, onion, cream, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, lemon peel and juice, nutmeg, and salt and pepper.
• Turn mixture into a greased 2 qt casserole.
• In small bowl, mix bread crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup cheese, garlic and melted butter.
• Sprinkle on top of casserole.
• Bake uncovered 35 minutes, or until heated through.