When the nights chill down after a day in the sunshine, this whole baked pears with Italian sausage dish is the perfect comforting supper – full of flavor, sticky and sweet with a little chilli to warm you from the inside.
Try to source authentic Italian spicy sausages – such as ‘nduja-style or Calabrian varieties – they really do enhance this dish.
Simple to prepare but full of soul, this is a one-pan supper perfect for aperitivo menus and al fresco suppers.
Ingredients
- Serves 4-6
- Leaves of 1 small bunch sage
- Leaves of 1 bunch rosemary
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 small head garlic plus 6 peeled cloves
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- 4 pears
- 8 large Italian spicy sausages
- 1 red onion, sliced into 6 wedges
- 1 head fennel, sliced into 6 wedges
- 10.6 oz small potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 lemon, halved
- 23.3 oz jar cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 cups good-quality chicken stock
Homes & Gardens method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, gas mark 4. First, make the herb oil.
- In a food processor, blitz the sage, rosemary, chilli flakes and 6 peeled garlic cloves until roughly chopped. Slowly add the olive oil until bright green.
- Put the whole pears, sausages, onion, fennel, potatoes, lemon halves, the whole garlic head sliced in half horizontally and half of the herb oil in a large roasting tray.
- Scatter over the beans and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Add the wine and stock and roast for a further 30 minutes, tossing every now and then.
- Spoon the remaining herb oil over the top and serve immediately.
For this recipe and other wonderful traybakes consider investing in Ina Garten's favorite All-clad stainless steel roasting pan from Williams Sonoma. It's heavy duty and had high sides to reduce splatter, and includes a rack for roasting whole birds.
