Roasted Italian sausages with borlotti beans and ’nduja sauce

What nicer place is there to shop than an Italian deli and in Theo Randall's inspiring book The Italian Deli Cookbook you can find out what to do with all those tempting ingredients you find there.

Here is his recipe for roasted Italian sausages with borlotti beans and nduja, a spicy Calabrian sausage. Sausages with sausage sauce - what's not to like?!

Theo writes: "Dried borlotti beans from the protected area of Lamon, in the Veneto, are the finest dried borlottis available. You don’t have to use these specifically, of course, but if you are lucky enough to come across a packet, you are in for a treat. Combined with lovely, flavoursome sausage and the spiciness of ’nduja, they are heavenly."

Serves 2

250g (9oz) dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water

2 garlic cloves, 1 whole, 1 finely sliced

1 plum tomato

2–3 sage leaves

3 tbsp olive oil

4 Italian sausages

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

100ml (3½fl oz) red wine

400g (14oz) tomato passata

75g (2½oz) skinned ’nduja

2 tbsp mascarpone

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g (7oz) purple-sprouting, calabrese or longstem broccoli, cooked and seasoned with olive oil and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to serve

Drain the soaked beans and rinse under cold, running water for a couple of minutes. Place the rinsed beans in a large saucepan and pour in cold water so that the water comes 10cm (4in) above the level of the beans.

Add the whole clove of garlic, along with the plum tomato and sage leaves. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 40 minutes, skimming off the foam from time to time, until the beans are soft enough to crush to a mash with your thumb. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking water. Remove the tomato, sage and garlic and place them in a bowl. Using a hand-held stick blender and a little of the bean cooking water, blend to a smooth paste. Add the paste back to the beans and check the seasoning. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/315°F/Gas Mark 2–3.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the sausages and cook for 5 minutes, turning frequently, until brown all over. Remove them from the pan and set aside, leaving the sausage fat and olive oil in the pan.

Add the celery, sliced garlic, onion and carrots to the pan and cook gently for 5 minutes, until the onion has softened. Add the red wine and cook for a further 2 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the passata, cook gently for a couple of minutes, then add the ’nduja and stir well.

Place the sausages on top of the passata mixture and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the sausages are cooked through. Remove from the oven, dollop over the mascarpone and check the seasoning.

Warm the cooked borlotti beans and stir through the remaining olive oil.

Place on the table for each person to help themselves, with some steaming hot purple sprouting broccoli served alongside.

What to drink: Theo says "make sure you have a good bottle of Chianti,or other super-Tuscan red wine to drink alongside – it’s essential." Who am I to disagree although I wold argue that barbera would work with this hearty dish too.

Extracted from The Italian Deli Cookbook by Theo Randall (Quadrille, £26) Photography: Lizzie Mayson

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