White Bean Stew With Spinach and Veggie Sausages

Tastes better than it looks.

I made a rather successful pot of bean stew today, so I thought I'd share the recipe. I cooked it on the hob, but if you like, this would do fine in a slow cooker as long as you are using tinned beans. Don't use uncooked beans in a slow cooker.

I really cannot take a decent food photo! I need Bibi to come over and do it.

You Will Need:
A good glug of olive oil (about 5 tablespoons)
1 bulb of garlic, cloves peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons rosemary (dried is okay, but crumble it first)
2 teaspoons dried thyme (or a few fresh sprigs)
2 bay leaves
A good grind of black pepper
1 veggie stock cube
4 tins (more or less is fine) small white beans (I used Great Northern Beans), rinsed and drained
(about) 1 lb. fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped coarsly
Water to cover-twice
1 package vegetarian Italian sausages-I like Light Life (They don't pay me to say that)
Finely grated hard cheese is you like
A drizzle of good quality olive oil to finish

In a heavy pot, heat the oil and add the garlic and herbs over very low heat. You don't want it browned, just warmed until fragrant. Add the beans, stock cube, and enough water to cover everything in the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until it is reduced by 3/4. This will take a couple hours. Add enough boiling water to cover a second time, simmering again until reduced by 3/4.

At this point, the dried herbs will have risen to the top of the pot. Gently skim them off as they've done their work. You could use a spice bag if you prefer, but I'm too lazy for cheesecloth and twine for a pot of beans.

Add the chopped spinach, and cook at a very low simmer. The spinach will add a bit of water to the stew, but not so much that you can ignore it. At this point (after about 4 hours) it tends to stick if you don't stir it once in a while.

If using sausages, cook them in a lightly oiled pan to brown them. Cut into chunks and add to the stew in the last ten minutes for the flavours to absorb.

I served ours with grated Pecorino on top.
*update-served the leftovers over toast next day. The boys claim it improved overnight.