Chicory with beans and sausage is a typical dish from Calabrian cuisine. It is a simple and tasty dish that combines the slightly bitter flavor of chicory with the strong flavor of sausage and the creamy texture of beans that binds the dish together. I absolutely love chicory, this strange slightly bitter vegetable with a rustic taste, often neglected by young people, but it deserves to be reconsidered because it is not only delicious but also very healthy. I prepare it boiled, or directly cooked in the pan if it is tender, sometimes I add potatoes during cooking to make it less bitter, read here the details how to make chicory less bitter. Other times I like to prepare chicory sautéed in a pan with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and chili pepper, but when I want to turn it into a main dish, more than just a simple side dish to pair with meat or fish, I also add beans, borlotti are great, or cannellini beans, and if I want to make it even richer, I add crumbled sausage, ideally red Calabrian sausage with red pepper, but sometimes the family is satisfied if my husband brings home white sausages without red pepper, so I use them too, as I did for this recipe, where I also added a couple of potatoes to make it a complete and nutritious main dish. I recommend trying it with pasta too, it’s delicious.
Here are other recipes with chicory
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 2-4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients for chicory with sausage and beans
- 2 bunches tender chicory
- 2 medium potatoes
- 7 oz cooked borlotti beans
- 5 oz Calabrian sausage
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 chili peppers
- to taste olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
- 1 Colander
Steps to prepare chicory with sausage and beans
1. Place a large pot half-filled with water on the stove and bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, peel 2 potatoes, cut into chunks, wash well and cook in boiling water.
3. Clean the chicory, cut it into 3 parts, wash thoroughly and cook with the potatoes. Cook until tender and drain. It will take just a few minutes if using tender chicory.
4. In a pan, brown the crumbled sausage. Set aside. It will take just a few minutes.
5. In the same pan, add a little olive oil, add 1 clove of garlic in its skin, crushed, a chopped chili pepper, sauté on low heat, then add the borlotti beans, a pinch of salt, and let them simmer for a few minutes.
6. After a few minutes, add the sausage to the pan, and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
7. Finally, add the cooked chicory with the potatoes and mix everything to flavor. If you want to make it a bit more brothy, you can add some cooking water from the beans or chicory, or even water. Let everything simmer together for a few minutes.
8. Finally, adjust the salt and serve.
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The dish can be stored for a couple of days in the fridge, it can be quickly reheated in a pan.
