WEEKEND FOOD BLOGGING: WHITE BEANS AND SAUSAGES WITH TOMATOES AND SAGE or FAGIOLI ALL'UCCELETTO

This have to be one of the best comfort foods in the world, at least during the colder months so when I made it the other day it was really in the last minute because now it's almost too warm to eat it. Fagioli all'ucceletto is a Tuscan dish, you cook white beans with sage, garlic and tomatoes and throw in a salsiccia and you get the most wonderful dish that's even better the day after. As a lot of food is, sometimes I think it would be better to cook certain dishes the day before you intend to eat it because they get so much better.
And the sage makes it a perfect dish for Weekend Herb Blogging doesn't it? I have a sage bush outside my kitchen, when I planted it almost 13 years ago when we finally had found a house and moved in, it was a small and sickly plant that had suffered from living indoors in a small flat in Florence. I just planted it because there were no plants in the garden, I had no hope but it grew almost out of proportion that first year! This gave my neighbours the impression that I have a very green thumb, they still think so even though I'm the laziest gardener in the world and our garden is in a sad state. Nowadays my sage is more like a bent old lady but she usually straightens up a bit after my coffee and tea treatment, I throw used coffee grounds and used tea leaves around it and hope for the best. And it's still there. I hope it it will live on because I would miss my old friend! This week WHB is back with one of the nicest food bloggers I know, Kalyn, who started the whole thing more than a year ago, take a look on her roundup on Monday!





WHITE BEANS AND SAUSAGES WITH TOMATOES AND SAGE or FAGIOLI ALL'UCCELETTO

500 g /17.6 oz white dry beans, cannolini beans are the best
Tomatoes, I like it with a lot of tomatoes so I use at least the same amount of tomatoes as dried beans but everyone has their own recipe here. You can also use tomato sauce
1-2 cloves of garlic
Fresh sage leaves
Italian sausages, salsicce
Salt
Olive oil

- Cook the beans with the garlic and salt. As usual I don't leave them to soak over night, I just let them simmer slowly slowly for a bit longer. And I salt the water because I have never noticed any difference.
- When they are cooked al dente or almost ready, you drain them of the water (keep the garlic) and you add chopped tomatoes, salvia , the salsiccia and some olive oil and go on cooking for about 30-40 minutes (if you use tomato sauce you need less time) until it's all soft and inviting. It can't be simpler so use good ingredients!
- Serve.