Pork and White Bean Stew Vaucluse Style
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 2 1/2 hours plus overnight soaking of beans
Haricots Blancs à la Villagoise, a real soul food in the Vaucluse during the winter season. The original recipe calls for Coco Beans (Haricots Coco) grown around Mollans sur Ouvèze. Great Northern white beans or Cannellini beans (which are the ones in the dish photographed) are a suitable substitute.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cup coco beans (or Great Northern white beans or Cannellini beans)
- 1 bouquet garni (1 thyme spring, 1 bay leaf, 2-3 parsley stems, 1 winter savory spring all tied in a bundle)
- 1 medium whole onion, studded with two whole cloves
- 3 cloves of garlic left whole
- 1 medium sized onion, about 250 gr (1 cup) thinly sliced
- 4 slices of cured pork loin, sliced about 1 cm (3/8 inches) thick
- 375 gr (3/4 lbs) smoked pork sausage (you may use Polish sausage like kielbasa) cut into 1 cm (3/8 inches) slices
- 2 cups Savoy cabbage cut into strips
Preparation:
Drain the beans from the overnight soaking. Place them in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring quickly to a boil and cook for 10 min. This pre-cooking will help remove any left over impurities. Drain them again, return them to a pot and cover them with water by a good 2-3cm (1 inch). Add the whole onion studded with cloves, the bouquet garni, the whole garlic, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat for about 1 hour or until the beans are quite done. Cooking time depends on what beans you use.
Meanwhile sauté the sliced onion in 2 tbsp olive oil for about 10 min. When beans are done, drain them but save a bit of water. Discard the whole onion and the bouquet garni. To the beans add the sautéed onion, cured pork loin, sausage slices and about 1 cup of the reserved water. Continue simmering the beans and the meat until the beans are ready, soft but not falling apart. If necessary add enough cooking liquid so beans don't dry out. Beans should retain their form, be tender but not mushy. Add the Savoy cabbage and cook it 2 - 3 minutes until barely wilted but still crunshy.
Divide beans and meats on four plates. Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. Serve with a crusty bread.
