Baked Beans with Sausages and Gremolata

The good news is that we now have a local farmer shop which provides fresh ingredients in Pukekohe. On some vegetables, you still can find dirt on them. Perhaps, somebody was too rushy and did not take the time to wash the dirt off. However, there's probably another sign that the vegetables are just pulled out of somewhere near.

In this shop, I can find beans in all kinds which are packed separately in a convenience amount for small use on our small household. I found haricot beans, red kidney beans, and lately I could find black beans as well.

The good dry haricot beans are great to cook with sausages. They won't take long to cook, depending on how old they are, once they're soaked in water for several hours or overnight. I like making my own baked beans and I find them tastier than the cans versions (that's because I say so). Plus, we still can find fresh tomatoes from the garden. A bonus!




Baked Beans with Sausages and Gremolata

The use of gremolata with the whole lot gives more flavour of the freshness of parsley and the tangy of lemon. I quite like it. So does everyone else in the family. I use venison sausages and we love eating this dish with sourdough bread, a home-made, of course!



2 cups haricot beans, soaked and cooked
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped
8 venison sausages
2 cups chicken stock or water
6 tomatoes, chopped (you can use a can of tomatoes in juice, if you prefer so)
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 bay leaves
salt
pepper
oil

Heat the oil. Cook the chopped onion until soft. Add in the garlic, cook again until fragrant. Add in the chopped tomatoes, paste and rosemary. Add stock or water. Cook until bubbly. Add in sausages and bay leaves. Remove from the stove and pour into a casserole dish. Add in the beans and cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the sausages are cooked through. Serve hot and sprinkled with gremolata.


Gremolata: just mix yourself chopped Italian parsley, zest of lemon, and garlic.



I am sending this as an entry for Click: Beans and Lentils hosted by Bee and Jai.