31 March, 2019
Rustic Bean Stew
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
10 ounces mixed dried beans (see note below) with seasoning packet
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken flavor
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon beef flavor
! medium size sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound smoked sausage or kielbasa
2 Tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 package fresh mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
1 pound fresh kale
2 medium size russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt, pepper, Nature Seasoning and Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning – to taste
1 egg
⅓ cup whole milk
1 package Jiffy cornbread mix
Preparation:
In a large crock pot add the beans, chopped onion, garlic, the bouillon, ½ of the seasoning packet and 6 cups of water. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours.
Add the potatoes to the crock pot. Cover and continue cooking on high at least one hour before desired serving time.
Meanwhile, cut the smoked sausage into coins, and then cut each coin into quarters. Set aside.
Rinse and separate the kale from the stalks and tear into bite sized pieces. Add to the crock pot, cover and continue cooking on high.
In a large skillet on medium high heat, melt the butter and then sauté the mushrooms until tender, 10-15 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to the crock pot.
Preheat the oven to 400°
In the same skillet used for the mushrooms, add the smoked sausage and sauté until browned, about 7-10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to the crock pot. Scoop about 2 Tablespoons of the pan fats and add to the crock pot. Cover and continue to cook 15-20 minutes, while you prepare the cornbread to serve with the stew.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and milk. Add the cornbread mix and stir well. Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan and bake 20 minutes.
Serve the stew warm, with a slice of corn bread. We also like to add either a scoop of potato salad or a deviled egg.
Notes:
We buy the large bags of mixed dried beans, such as the Hurst’s HamBean brand’s “15 Bean Soup.” It has a nice mix of 15 different beans: northern beans, pinto beans, large lima beans, yelloweye beans, garbanzo, baby lima, green split pea, kidney beans, cranberry beans, small white beans, pink beans, small red beans, yellow split pea, lentils, navy white kidney beans, and black beans. Some of these varieties are difficult to source locally on their own. You only need about half of the 20 ounce bag for this recipe. It usually comes with a seasoning packet, which you can set aside the unused half and use with the other half bag of unused beans for a future meal.