If you like franks and beans, this is for you. There are, of course, more complicated versions, ending with cassoulet, but this is the starting point. Other cuts of meat you can use here: longer, because they need some simmering time, but very good, are browned chunks of pork or lamb shoulder (or both), cooked in the beans in place of (or in addition to) the sausage.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　4 cups White Beans with Garlic (page 441) or any well-seasoned white beans

　　Salt and black pepper if necessary

　　Additional extra virgin olive oil if necessary

　　1 1/2 pounds good-quality pork sausage

　　

Step 1

Gently warm the beans in a medium saucepan, partially covered. If you have not already added salt, pepper, and olive oil, do so, to taste.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, slowly grill or panfry the sausage until nicely browned all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into chunks and bury in the beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, another 5 minutes or so. Serve or cover and refrigerate for up to a day before gently reheating.

　　

Chorizo and Beans

Step 3

Even easier: Bury about 1/2 pound dried (Spanish) chorizo (or other good garlicky sausage), cut into chunks, in 4 cups beans, along with a dried chile or hot red pepper flakes to taste. Heat through, about 10 minutes, then taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

　　

Sausage with Aromatic Beans and Tomatoes

Step 4

Substitute Aromatic White Beans with Chicken Stock and Tomatoes (page 442) for the White Beans with Garlic.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.