Spanish Sausage and Beans

I did think about calling this "Spanish Cassoulet" but, well it's not really but that's what it was inspired by.

For various reasons I'm currently running down my freezer and I had a pack of raw chorizo style cooking sausages in there.  I also had an enormous pack of dried haricot beans in the cupboard which have been there for more than a year (if you read my Britmums Cassoulet post you might see why!)  Anyway, I do love the combination of the sausage and beans in cassoulet and wondered if I could mix it up a bit.

Spanish Sausage and Beans - Serves 2 adults, 1 child and a sneaky spoonful left for Mummy's lunch

Ingredients

200g, 7oz Dried Haricot Beans
1/2 Onion, finely diced
4-5 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp Olive oil
1 Bay leaf (dried is fine)
1 Large sprig of parsley (including stalks)
454g, 1lb Chorizo style cooking sausages

Method

Soak the beans overnight in cold water.

When ready to cook, drain the beans and put into a saucepan with plenty of boiling water.  Bring to the boil and boil for 15 minutes.  Skim the scum off the top now and again as this will stop it boiling over.

While the beans are boiling, soften the onion and garlic in the oil gently for a few minutes.

Once the beans were boiled, drain them and put in the pan with the garlic and onion and approx 500ml of boiling water.  Simmer, covered for approx 45 minutes or until cooked.  This can vary by the age of the beans.

When the beans are almost cooked, dry fry the sausages until browned a bit then slice them into three pieces each (they will still be raw in the middle but this doesn't matter.)  Mix with the beans and pour into an ovenproof dish.  Bake in the oven at 180oC, 350F, Gas Mark 4 until the sausages are cooked and a crust has formed.  Give them a stir or two during the cooking time.

Serve with parsley if liked, with vegetables or salad or just with crusty bread and a good Spanish beer!

My 3 year old was very impressed (with the cooking, not beer) and had thirds!  Even though the sausages actually had some chilli in them, by cooking them with the beans, they calmed them down a bit.  Definitely a success.

Make it Thrifty

The best way to keep costs down with this meal is to use the rest of the oven space for pudding!