Creamy Mascarpone Butter Beans with Sausage and Gremolata
This creamy dish of butter beans and sausage is balanced out with the bright addition of an herby gremolata. An easy and tasty meal that pairs excellently with some toasted bread.
From the book
One Pan Beans
Get creative with protein-packed pulses such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas.
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Introduction
I’m a big fan of using good-quality sausages, removed from their casings, to use in a base for bean (also pasta) recipes. Well-seasoned, they bring an easy, instant flavour boost to a dish and don’t tend to cost all that much. As ingredients go, I find a little goes a long way, which, if you do eat meat, is a good maxim for using less and buying the best quality your budget can stretch to. One sausage per person is ample to flavour the beans and enough to feed four people, for example. If you want to keep this recipe meat-free, omit the sausages; I might be tempted to sauté some mushrooms in with the garlic to add extra oomph to the beans. Mascarpone makes these beans extra rich and creamy, and the gremolata is a fine accompaniment; using it in the beans, on the toast and also on the beans to serve ensures everything sings.
Ingredients
| 4 large | good-quality pork sausages, skins removed and meat squeezed out |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 3 | garlic cloves, 2 thinly sliced, 1 roughly chopped |
| 1 x 400g (14oz) can | chopped tomatoes or polpa (finely chopped tomatoes) |
| 1 small bunch of | parsley, roughly chopped |
| 2 strips of | unwaxed lemon zest, pith removed |
| 150g (5½oz) | mascarpone |
| ¼–½ | nutmeg, freshly grated |
| Approx. 750g (1lb 10oz) | drained cooked or canned butter (lima) beans |
| Pinch of | chilli flakes (optional), plus more to serve |
| salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| To serve: | |
|---|---|
| 4 thick slices | of bread, toasted and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil |
| parmesan, shaved or grated |
Method
Using wet hands, break up the sausages into small chunks.
In a large pan over a moderate heat, fry the sausage meat chunks in the olive oil for 5–8 minutes until cooked and beginning to caramelise. Then add the sliced garlic and cook for a further 1 minute until fragrant.
Stir in the tomatoes and lower the heat. Cook for 10 minutes until the sauce is thickened and rich.
Meanwhile, chop together the parsley, lemon zest and garlic until very finely chopped to make the gremolata. Put to one side.
Add the mascarpone and nutmeg to the tomato and sausages and mix well. Check the seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste.
Stir in the beans and half the gremolata. Top with the chilli flakes (if using), adding a splash of water to loosen, if required.
Top the toasted bread slices with the beans and sprinkle over the remaining gremolata, the shaved parmesan and extra chilli flakes.
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