White Elephant Beans With Chicken Sausage

Some friends of our went to the north west of Greece to the Prespes Lakes famed for their white elephant beans. These beans are even bigger than the giant beans you have maybe read about in my previous posts. They are perfect to half braze half bake with a tomato sauce and Italian chicken sausages. By the way these sausages are the only salty ingredient in the whole recipe. I am still aiming at a minimum Na+ (sodium) diet.

Ingredients:
Serves 4

• ½ kg of white elephant beans soaked in lots of water overnight.
• ¼ cup olive oil.
• ½ kg of grated tomato with juice.
• 2 carrots thinly sliced with the mandolin.
• ½ bunch of celery leaves finely chopped.
• 1 medium onions finely chopped.
• 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped.
• ½ liter of chicken broth.
• ½ liter of the beans cooking liquid.
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika.
• 1 Tbsp dried chili flakes with seeds.
• A few turns of  black pepper mill.
• 8 sausages. 

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C (400 F).
• Throw away the water the beans have been soaking in all night.
• Put new water to cover beans by 3 cm.
• Cook for 1 hour from the time the water starts to boil.
• When done, turn off heat and set aside. 
• In another pot, heat oil, stir fry onion till transparent.
• Then add the garlic, carrots, celery and stir fry all together for 5 minutes.
• Add broth and tomato. Mix well bring to a boil.
• Add pepper, dried chili flakes and smoked paprika and mix.

• Strain beans (but do not throw away the juice) and add to the boiling mixture.
• Bring to a boil.
• Cover, and reduce heat to minimum and let simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the ½ liter of the beans cooking liquid if required.

• Get your earth-wear ready and pour the whole lot in it.
• Put into oven for 1 hour.
• 30 minutes before the time is up add the sausages.
• When time is up serve at table with the earth-ware directly from the oven.
• Serve with bread to soak up the sauce and beer! 

Enjoy with some feta cheese on the side.

Stelios