Rustic White Bean Ragout with Spinach and Italian Sausage

What could be better than a hearty meal that you will need a fork, a soup spoon and bread for dipping? The flavor from the sausage, rosemary and garlic screams heavy comfort food, but almost all of the ingredients are on the healthier side. Make it gluten-free by omitting the bread for dipping and by making sure to use a gluten-free broth because some brands contain gluten. Makes 4 hearty servings.

Ingredients

1 large link of Italian style sausage (mild or hot) about 1 lb.
2 -19 oz. cans of white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 – 14 oz. can of 99% fat free chicken broth
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 – 11 oz. container of fresh organic baby spinach, rinsed and drained
2 finely diced garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup of parmesan cheese or Romano cheese
Garnish
Sliced baguette
Parmesan cheese or Romano cheese

Technique

Place sausage onto a cookie sheet, cover and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 30 – 40 minutes until thoroughly cooked. While sausage is baking, rinse and drain white kidney beans. In a large pot add beans, chicken broth and rosemary and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove rosemary sprigs and discard. Add spinach, garlic and salt. Gently stir every few minutes until all spinach is wilted and flavors are blended. This will take about 15 minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted. Remove sausage from the oven and slice into bite size pieces. Add to mixture, stir and simmer for a few minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve with garnishes if desired.

Suggested Beverage

Try Farnese Sangiovese (Italy), Masi Campofiorin (Italy), Rodney Strong Pinot Noir(California), Pedroncelli Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley) Peroni Nastro Azzurro® Birra – (Italy) or Bass Pale Ale (England).

Chatty Advice

When making any of our gluten-free recipes take care in reading the labels of any packaged or canned products. If there is a label on anything you are using, read it or ask to make sure that it is indeed gluten-free. Many products vary in ingredients from brand to brand. Some examples of this can be found when looking at the labels of soy sauce, mustard, distilled vinegar, and even chicken broth.