White beans with toulouse sausage, broccoli and garlic

White beans and broccoli are a wonderful combination – with the sausage and rosemary and so easy to make, this dish is a winner.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
	salt
	freshly ground black pepper
1 large head	broccoli, broken up into smaller florets
2-3 tablespoons	olive oil
4	toulouse sausages, meat squeezed out roughly into chunks
1	large onion, finely diced
3	garlic cloves, finely sliced
a good pinch	chilli flakes, to taste
1 teaspoon	fennel seeds, slightly crushed
1	good-sized sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves, finely chopped
1 x 400g	tin of cannellini or butter beans, rinsed and drained
	a few shavings of parmesan or pecorino cheese per portion
50g	breadcrumbs, freshly toasted in a pan or in the oven

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the broccoli until tender, about 6 minutes, and drain well.
In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the sausage meat and cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through and beginning to brown in places. Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the fat and any cooking juices. Set to one side.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil and the onion to the same frying pan and cook over a moderate heat for 8–10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, chilli flakes, fennel seeds, rosemary and drained beans and stir over the heat so that the flavours meld and the mix begins to smell fragrant, about 2–3 minutes.
Add the cooked broccoli, mixing well. Taste for seasoning, adjusting with salt and pepper if necessary.
Divide the mix between bowls, topping each with some shavings of Parmesan or Pecorino, a drizzle of olive oil and the toasted breadcrumbs.