This is comfort food at its best. Dial up or down the spicy kick as you see fit and put this together in under 30 minutes. It comes from Melissa Clark in NYTimes Cooking with a few minor changes that brought it more into the vegetarian realm.
For this you’ll need: x1 16oz can chopped tomatoes, x2 16oz cans of white beans (cannelloni, navy, etc; drained), x2 large Italian sausage links (we used Beyond Hot Italian, cut into 1″ pieces), x5 garlic cloves (crushed, peeled and chopped), 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (add more for more kick), 1.5 cups vegetable stock, 1/2 cup fresh basil (roughly chopped), 3 Tbs olive oil, grated parmesan, salt, pepper.
In a large pot or Dutch oven heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium heat and add the chopped sausage. Cooked until browned stirring occasionally, about 5-8 mins. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate.
Add another 2 Tbs oil to the same pan and add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. Quickly stir well over medium heat until fragrant and fully covered in oil, about 1 min. Add the tomatoes with all of their liquid then add the drained beans, stock and a good pinch of salt and grinding of pepper. Mash a few of the beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon or potato masher to give some body to the stew, bring to a boil, stir well, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until thickened – about 12-15 mins.
Turn off the heat, stir in the cooked sausage and chopped basil. Cover the pot and let stand for a bit – for at least 15 min but up to an hour – to let everything settle together.
Serve warm with grated parmesan on top.
