Sausages with White Beans in Tomato Sauce

Bon Appetit, October 2009

I’ve read this recipe in at least 3 different places, and they all have the same idea: white beans, sage, tomatoes, and sausage (sometimes with, sometimes without).  I have found this version to be the least complex with nearly the same flavor as the version that takes hours of hands-on time.  This recipe still takes all day, but it requires next to no oversight.  The key to beans: get them from a store with a huge bean turnover.  Do not buy them in bags at the grocery.  THEM BEANS IS OLD, to quote any Hoosier over the age of 75.  Old beans can be soaked overnight and cooked for 6 hours, and they are still going to be hard.  Even dried beans slowly lose water, so if they are old, they are going to be rocks.  If you buy them from a bulk food store or any store that sells large quantities of beans, soak them overnight…they’ll cook in 3 hours or less.  I cook mine the night before, or in the morning, or whenever, and then I just stick the pot on the back burner turned off, or in the fridge.  Beans are hardy!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sausages-with-White-Beans-in-Tomato-Sauce-355202