Sausage and White Beans with Mustard Greens

This recipe shares some elements with other variations of the basic components.  In northern Spain one finds Fabada Asturiana which is heavier on the meat aspect, and Caldo Gallego which emphasizes the greens.  From Italy there's the venerable Tuscan White Bean Soup.  This one from the south of France is less of a soup than the aforementioned three.  I recommend you make the effort to find Toulouse sausage.  Italian sweet sausage will do, but it will change the flavor profile.  For this dish I splurged and used very flavorful southern French duck sausage with figs.  I also recommend more beans than the original recipe which is adapted from America's Test Kitchen's indispensable The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook.

Ingredients

1 lb Toulouse sausage

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped finely

2 Tbsp minced fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 (14.5 oz) canned chopped tomatoes (better if fresh, of course)

1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth (better if homemade, of course)

1 and 1/2 (15 oz) cans of cannellini beans, rinsed

12 oz mustard greens, stemmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup Parmesan bread crumbs (half grated cheese/half bread crumbs)

2 tbsp minced parsley

Preparation

Prick the sausages in several places.  Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a Dutch Oven.  Add sausages and brown on all sides; about 8 minutes.  Remove sausages to a plate.

Add remaining Tbsp olive oil to the Dutch Oven at medium heat till oil shimmers.  Sauté the onions with a little salt until lightly browned, ~7minutes.  Stir in garlic and thyme, and sauté for 30 seconds.  Add wine and reserved juice from the tomatoes.  Scrape up any frond at the bottom and cook until almost all the liquid is evaporated.  Stir in broth, beans and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.

Stir in mustard greens and wilt for about 1 minute.  Place sausages on top of greens.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the greens are completely wilted and reduced in volume by about one half, ~10 minutes.

Uncover, increase heat to medium low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the sausages are fully cooked and the greens tender. ~15 minutes.  Remove some beans and mash on a plate, then stir back into the pot. Serve in warmed individual dishes.  Top with the Parmesan bread crumbs and parsley.

A Languedoc wine like Corbières or Cahors would be a nice accompaniment. And crusty French bread, bien sûr.