Foodie Blogroll

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Cranberry Beans, Sausage, and Kale

It was such a pleasure when I spotted these beautiful pink and white speckled beans at the local Amish market...and if you know me I just had to pick some up. While I have used fresh black eyed peas on New Year's Day, they were packaged in a shrink wrapped container and were pretty much ready to use. They are also called Shelly beans, and I did have to shell them myself, but I got a small amount so it was kinda fun to do. Easy enough to figure how to use these pretty beans as well. Just gently boil them until soft around 20-30 minutes.

I decided to try them while my husband was out of state driving his father home to Michigan, my daughter and I could make a meal of it. We were at Whole Foods and picked up some fresh Cuban sausage. I cooked the sausage with the beans first, then sauteed in a skillet.


With a little bit of my garlic Parmesan olive oil I cooked some shallots and garlic. (I didn't have any onions) add the sausage and brown it the way you like it.

Add the beans and some of the liquid used to cook the beans. You can also use any firm white bean if you can't find cranberry beans, like cannellini beans. I also added some fresh sage from my garden sliced or chopped finely.

Some organic kale we also picked up from Whole Foods was on sale. Wash it and tear it off from the tough ribs. You can probably add the kale and cook it down a bit before adding the cooked beans, but if you cooked the beans slightly under add the beans at the same time with the cooking liquid..and it will steam the kale nicely.


Sprinkle with some sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Top with some fresh grated cheese like Parmesan, I used asiago because that is what I had in hand. It didn't get in the photo though....

Served with rice because that is what my daughter wanted and it was a good meal for the both of us. This is definitely a meal you can make a little or a lot of. If you like it a little spicy you can add some red pepper flakes or use spicy sausage. I will make this again for sure...


...and next time I won't be in such a hurry to snap the photo...promise!

Hopefully this will be the last of the busy season on the beach until December when they all come back...it was even this busy at sunset at the beach that we can usually always find a place to park.

so we just walk out to the water and mosey on up the beach...

...until the crowd thins out and we see this...we did get asked to take a picture of some tourists from Maine visiting for Spring Break, they had the whole family here and they couldnt get over seeing the sun set over the water...they get the sunrise!


Enjoy your weekend...next I'll bring dessert!

28 comments:

  1. That looks like a very tasty dish. Those beans do look very pretty and I love kale. Wow...that's a long drive up to Michigan from Florida!

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    1. Yes, it takes about 24 hour of driving to get there from Florida. He drove up in two days and stayed a bit then flew home. His dad had heart surgery a couple of months ago. Next year they'll fly down.

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  2. Those cranberry beans are just so cute. Never had them prepared with ale...it looks very tasty.

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    1. Ha! I'll bet it would be good with ale too! ;)

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  3. not sure if you remember that i told you that i see these cranberry beans selling here but hv not tried cooking them ..are they hard when fresh..i mean do they hv to be cooked in water for a long time before you saute them?

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    1. They are pretty firm beans when fresh. I just boiled them for 20 - 30 minutes until soft. Then did a quick saute in the skillet. I think the texture can be off if cooked too much or not enough...can't remember which, but the best way to know is to taste them as you go. Some split open when I was done, but I really didn't mind the texture...a nice bite.

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    2. thanks! one day i'll try these beans.

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  4. That really looks tasty. No beans in the shops here yet but they should be soon. I love quiet beaches but I do not get to see the sea very often except on a ferry! Keep well. Diane

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    1. Diane, it won't be long now and you'll have many veggies in your garden!

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  5. Lyndsey you know I love anything with sausage! I never see those beans here fresh only dried. Your husband had a long drive!

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    1. Even a little bit of sausage like I used adds so much to the beans and kale...they just go together.

      Yes, he thought it was too much of a drive for his dad right now.

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  6. Your beach pictures are just so lovely. Lindsey - I am koo koo for kale! Combining it with sausage and those gorgeous beans was a great idea! it's so great to finally have time again for blogging and visiting my favourite blogger friends!

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    1. Nice to see you again Lyndsay, we are lovin' kale too. I can't get myself to stop posting beach pictures.

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  7. Can beans be beautiful? Because those sure are and look what you've created with them too! What a warm to the tummy meal this must have been Lyndsey.

    Love the beach shots too. Coming from Long Island, NY, I sure do miss the beach since moving to Pennsylvania.

    Thank you so much for sharing...

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    1. Yes, they are kinda pretty aren't they? Thanks for your nice words. I seem to have a need to post the beach shots.

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  8. Aren't cranberry beans gorgeous! This sounds delightful!

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  9. Like these beans Lyndsey are amazing and beuty!! love these! and your pictures are awesome!

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    1. Gloria, so nice to hear from you as always! Thanks!

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  10. Lovely robust dish - simply delicious
    mary x

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  11. Hi Lyndsey, your cranberry dish look delicious. Thanks for sharing the beautiful beach pictures.

    Have a nice day.

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  12. A wonderful rustic dish ! I love these types of beans and would even try kale instead of my preferred chard for the occasion!

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  13. This is also called bolottie beans right? Make soup with these beans is very delicious too. My mum makes this clear bean soup with these beans quite often and I love it. I try frying them with sausage and kale next time. Sounds good with rice and my Quay Lo can eat with bread.

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  14. I love easy meals like this. I've never cooked with cranberry beans before, I will be on the lookout for it!

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  15. I love this beans. We call them pearl beans over here and we would normally cook it in soup.

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  16. I cannot remember when was the last time I've seen cranberrry beans...probably back in Ohio, also from an Amish produce market. Have not found any Amish people, not even Amish market here in S. Florida...lucky you~

    Love the sausage/kale combination...I actually still have Italian sausage in my freezer, and will want to make it with just plain old navy or kidney beans. Should be good with that too.

    I agree with you about the beach, although we have a private beach here, the "snowbirds" and their friends have gone back, and it's really quiet on our beach now.
    Love the sunset photos:DDD

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  17. Oh, I'm so intrigued - I've never tried cranberry beans before! This dish looks sooo yummy! I can see my hubby devouring it :)

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