Name: One-Pot Italian Sausage with White Beans and Kale
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: ItalianEurope
Ingredients: 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans , rinsed; 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes , drained with juice reserved; 1 cup chicken broth; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage , pricked all over with fork; 1 onion , chopped fine; 3 garlic cloves , minced; 1 pound kale , stemmed and chopped; Salt and pepper

Why This Recipe Works

For a new take on this simple dish, we paired creamy, tender white beans and robust kale with meaty Italian sausage. Since we aimed to cook down a lot of kale, the Dutch oven was the ideal vessel. We wanted the sausages to be napped in a velvety sauce, so we started by pureeing cannellini beans with canned diced tomatoes. The canned tomatoes’ juices and some chicken broth thinned out and deepened the flavor of the thick puree. Next, we ensured the sausages held their shape by pricking the casings with a fork before cooking. After browning them to build some fond, we removed the sausages, softened chopped onion in their meaty renderings, and added garlic and the bean-tomato puree to the pot. Adding in extra diced tomatoes created some textural contrast, and wilting a whole pound of kale was as easy as stirring it into the pot, covering it, and letting it simmer away. We returned the browned sausages to the pot along with more cannellinis during the last 10 minutes of cooking, allowing the sausages to cook through and the beans to absorb some of the flavorful broth before serving.

Before You Begin

Serve with crusty bread.

Instructions

Puree ½ cup beans, ½ cup tomatoes, reserved tomato juice, and chicken broth in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add sausages and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes; transfer to plate.

Add onion to fat left in pot and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato puree mixture, kale, remaining drained tomatoes, and ¼ teaspoon salt, scraping up any browned bits. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until kale is wilted and tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in remaining beans, then nestle browned sausages and any accumulated juices into pot. Cover and simmer until sausages register 160 degrees and sauce is thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.