Dishing Up the Dirt

Zucchini & Sausage White Bean Stew

We are three days into our Local Thirty experiment and so far things are going really well. No one is starving, and we’re actually feeling pretty damn good! I’m going to keep recipe posts short as I’m working on a longer post/multiple chapters to write about this experience towards the end of the month. However, if you’re interested in some of the wild adventures we’ve found ourselves on in search of local ingredients you can follow along on instagram as I’m posting there daily about this journey.

This stew was an easy meal to make with local ingredients and now that the days are getting shorter it’s kind of nice to have a hearty stew in rotation. This meal is delicious, comforting, and pretty darn economical. We found our dry navy beans from Sun Gold Farm and the pork came from our friends at Treebird Ranch. Pretty much everything else came from Tumbleweed. What I love most about this recipe is that it uses simple ingredients but it’s full of so much flavor. We even found out that our local bakery (White Salmon Baking Co.) uses local grain so the baguette didn’t have to be a cheat.  I hope that you all enjoy the flavors of the late summer harvest.

Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm

Zucchini Sausage & White Bean Stew

Prep Time: 1 hour    Cook Time: 2 hours    Serves: 6-8

  • 1 lb dried white beans-- (105 miles)
  • 1 lb ground pork-- (39 miles)
  • 2 yellow onions, finely chopped-- (0 miles)
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil-- (105 miles)
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped--(0 miles)
  • 5 cups bone broth-- (12 miles)
  • 2 quarts of  water, divided (o miles)
  • 1 (3 by 2-inch) cheese rind--we used Cascadia Creamery's Sleeping Beauty but any hard cheese will work (39 miles)
  • 2 teaspoons salt--(157 miles)
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper --(a cheat of ours and milage unknown)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary-- (o miles)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme-- (o miles)
  • 2 medium-sized zucchini, sliced into half moons-- (o miles)
  • 1 large bunch of kale, torn into bite size pieces-- (0 miles)
  • grated cheese for serving--(39 miles)
  • crusty bread for dunking--(18 miles)
  • red wine for sipping--(20 miles)

Preparation

  1. Cover beans with water by 2 inches in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand, uncovered, for 1 hour. Drain beans in a colander and rinse.
  2. Brown the pork in a large dutch oven or soup pot until no longer pink. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pork and drain on paper towels.
  3. Add a little olive oil to the pan and cook the onions until soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute longer. Add the beans, broth, 1 quart of water, cheese rind, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme, and simmer, uncovered, until beans are just tender, about 50 minutes.
  4. Stir in the zucchini and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the kale, pork, and remaining quart of water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for bout 10-15 minutes longer. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve with freshly grated cheese and a loaf of hearty bread

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary


Leave a Reply

4 thoughts on “Zucchini & Sausage White Bean Stew

  1. Susan says:

    It’s a little unusual to see mileage as part of the ingredients… but that’s an excellent way of being accountable. The stew sounds good.

  2. Jennifer says:

    Looks amazing! Pretty sure Pine Street Bakery also sources locally 🙂

  3. Serena Whitridge says:

    Love the cheese rind edition! Thank you Andrea for another wonderful meal

    1. Andrea says:

      So happy to hear!!

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