Sobronade

It takes a while to make this, though that’s down to the cooking process, not hands on time. You can make this a few days ahead of when you want to serve it. It serves 4, so you can freeze half and have a dish ready for the next time you invite someone over. It’s the cosiest supper you could offer.

Requires overnight soaking for the beans

Overview

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

2 hrs

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp duck fat or 30g butter

• 250g pork belly slices, cut into chunks

• 125g dried haricot beans, soaked overnight

• 1 onion, half cut into wedges, half chopped

• 1 large carrot, diced

• 1 celery stick, diced

• ½ fennel bulb, roughly chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, stalks and leaves separated, and both chopped

• leaves from 6 sprigs of thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• ½ tsp fennel seeds

• 400g good-quality sausages (ideally Toulouse but spicy Italian ones are a good substitute)

• 200g tinned tomato polpa, or chopped tomatoes (I like Mutti)

• 150g waxy potatoes, cut into chunks

Method

Step 1

Melt 1 tbsp of the duck fat or 10g of the butter in a heavy-bottomed casserole and quickly brown 250g pork belly slices (cut into chunks) all over, about 5 minutes.

Step 2

Drain 125g soaked haricot beans, rinse and add to the pork. Add ½ onion (cut into wedges) and enough water to cover everything by 6cm. Bring slowly to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.

Step 3

Put another 1 tbsp of the duck fat or 10g of the butter in a separate frying pan and lightly brown ½ chopped onion, 1 large diced carrot, 1 diced celery stick and ½ roughly chopped fennel bulb (in batches, if necessary). Add these to the casserole as they’re ready, plus 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, a small bunch of chopped parsley stalks, the leaves from 6 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves and ½ tsp fennel seeds should go in now too.

Step 4

Bring to the boil then immediately turn down the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove the onion wedges (though don’t worry if you can’t find them).

Step 5

Brown 400g sausages in a different frying pan in the remaining 1 tbsp of duck fat or 10g of butter, cut them into chunks and add to the casserole with most of the chopped parsley leaves, 200g tinned tomato pulp and the 150g waxy potatoes (cut into chunks).

Step 6

Season really well, – beans need a lot of seasoning – bring to the boil again, then turn down the heat and simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the beans are really soft. Stir once in a while, and check the mixture is thick but not too thick. You might have to cover it with a lid if it’s reducing too much.

Step 7

Check the seasoning. Serve in warm bowls – I use broad, shallow pasta bowls – sprinkling on the remaining chopped parsley leaves. Let the remainder cool before freezing.