Cannellini Mediterranee

This is a simple but delicious dish that is inspired by cassoulet. Katie asked me for the recipe so I am posting it here, but I highly recommend it to everyone.

Makes six servings:

1/2 pound fresh Italian sausage, or any fresh link sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 19-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 smoked turkey leg, skin removed and diced (available at most supermarket meat sections)

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 sprigs fresh sage

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

Healthy pinch of red pepper flakes

1 to 2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Brown the Italian sausage in olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Add all remaining ingredients to the pot along with just enough chicken broth to bring the liquid level with the other ingredients.

Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover and continue cooking for another hour until a few beans begin to split and release some starch into the broth for thickening.

I couldn't find a smoked turkey leg, so I used a smoked turkey breast instead. Also, my dutch oven is for camping and has legs, so I browned the sausage and cooked the onion and garlic in a cast iron skillet. I then transferred them to my dutch oven. I then added the chicken broth to the skillet, deglazed the pan, and then added that to the dutch oven.

For other great recipes, this blog is fantastic: Kitchen Window

Antonia

AGE: 31

HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, CA

PROFESSION: Executive Chef, Foxtail, SBE Restaurant Group

CULINARY EDUCATION: French Culinary Institute

FAVORITE SIMPLE SPRING RECIPE: Baby beets with bouchon goat cheese and marcona almonds

BIO: Antonia worked for executive chef Lee Hefter at Spago restaurant for six years and is now Executive Chef at the popular L.A. restaurant Foxtail. A single mother living in Los Angeles with her 7-year-old daughter, Antonia comes from an Italian background and says fresh linguine with white truffle is her favorite thing to cook. She always has aged balsamic and extra virgin olive oil on hand, and root beer floats with her daughter are her favorite indulgence.

Andrew

AGE: 30

HOMETOWN: Fort Lauderdale, FL - currently resides in New York City

PROFESSION: Sous Chef in NYC

CULINARY EDUCATION: A.S. Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales, North Miami

FAVORITE SIMPLE SPRING RECIPE: Diced strawberries, mango, tomato, cucumber, and jicama. Thai dressing (sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and siracha). Thai basil and mint chiffonade.

BIO: For the past two years, Andrew has studied everything from the French cuisine of Raymond Blanc to the molecular gastronomy of Ferran Adria. With food influences that range from African, Spanish, French and Thai to Vietnamese, Japanese, Latino and Indian, Andrew prides himself on being diverse in the kitchen. When Andrew isn't working, you can find him researching cuisines at a bookstore or shopping for spices that are uncommon and of multicultural influences to adapt to his cuisine. He believes in translating the flavors and techniques from different cultures into innovative interpretations that do not stray far from their origins. His goal is to leave a legacy like the chefs before his time, which shaped him and his fellow chefs minds and refined their techniques. He says he doesn't make food for mere sustenance, but to create an experience that impacts the soul.

More excited for this than PR finale