A recipe that is all about typical Italian comfort food and is a great way to use up stale bread. This recipe comes from Puglia (Apulia), right down in the heel of southern Italy.
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Ingredients
- 750ml good quality fresh chicken stock (see tip)
- 8 small new potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced, plus an extra clove for rubbing
- ¼-½ tsp chilli flakes (to taste)
- 4 free-range pork sausages (see tip), meat squeezed out and broken into large chunks
- 3 slices stale pugliese-style bread (the food team used Crosta & Mollica Pane Pugliese, available from Waitrose and independent stores, but any sturdy white bread, such as sourdough, would be good)
- 400g tin cannellini or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 head spring greens, shredded
- 8 tenderstem broccoli spears, cut into 2cm lengths
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- Lemon juice for squeezing
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Method
- Put the stock in a medium pan and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry with kitchen paper. Keep the stock on a gentle simmer. Meanwhile put a deep, wide frying pan with a lid over a gentle heat, pour in the 2 tbsp olive oil, add the garlic and chilli flakes, then cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Remove the garlic from the pan (tip the pan, then spoon out – it doesn’t matter if you take some oil with it) and set aside.
- Increase the heat under the pan to medium-high, add the sausagemeat chunks and fry for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden – it’s fine if they break up a bit. Roughly tear up 1 slice of the bread and add along with the cooked potatoes. Season well, add 150ml of the stock, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, bring the rest of the stock back up to the boil and add the beans, spring greens and broccoli spears, then cook for 5 minutes.
- Take off the frying pan lid, add the vinegar and cook for 1 minute, then stir gently and add the veg, reserved garlic and remaining stock. Bubble for 2 minutes while you toast the 2 other slices of bread. Rub the toasts with the remaining garlic clove, then divide among 4 soup bowls. Ladle the stew over the toast, drizzle with olive oil, squeeze over some lemon juice and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Serve hot or warm.
Nutrition
- 409kcals Calories
- 17.8g (5.4g saturated) Fat
- 23g protein Protein
- 35g (3.9g sugars) Carbs
- 8.6g Fibre
- 1.7g Salt
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