What is more comforting than a cozy fireplace on a cold winters' day?  Cheese and Parsley Sausage
with Cannellini Beans and Broccoli Rabe, that's what.  Before you club  me with your mouse pads, there are
plenty of other things that come into play when thinking of comfort.  But that's not what I'm cooking in my
cast iron pan...it's this coil of flavor and pork, brought into the realm of goodness  for you by the inclusion of
beans and greens.  Garlic, olive oil all play a part in this wonder...put all of these ingredients together and
you get a one pan dish which covers all the bases.

     Back to my youth...I seem to remember the rings of Cheese and Parsley to be more prevalent in the
summer months, skewered with an X of wooden sticks.  As time went on it seems the sausage became
available year round.  In the summer in our Staten Island backyard, it was as common as hot dogs, ham-
burgers, chicken, and ribs...The charcoal smoke blending with the juices and flavorings of the meat are
incomparable in terms of heady summer food aromas.  But, it's Jan.14, seasonably cold outside, and the
grill is still a few months in the distance.  Later for that..Here is a hearty, Southern Italian regional dish
which pleases everyone.

Let's start with the star of the show...the cheese and parsley sausage, properly called
Luganega..here's some foodwisdom, it is a coiled pork sausage, more seasoned than the sweet
fennel sausage of the South of Italy, or the pure pork sausage of the Central regions.  In the south
garlic, or wine, or cheese, and/or parsley might be added..in the North it may be seasoned
with aromatic and exotic spices such as cinnamon.  Small in diameter, but long in length,
in some regions it is known as Luganega al Metro (by the meter) and is sold in the size you
request.  The name comes from Lucania, a province in Southern Italy now known as
Basilicata..guess what...my Grandfather was born there....Food historians say this thin and
coiled spiced sausage was originally from this region, hence the name.  So maybe I have
a genetic predisposition to consume this whenever possible.  Or maybe not...I just love
most pork products, this one being especially favored.

Those of us born and raised within the City of New York and its' boroughs are lucky to have
access to a Salumeria (a store which specializes in Italian Pork products) in some cases on
every corner...no joke, in Staten Island you can find a pork store wherever you are...The version
that seems to be most popular is the one you see in the picture above, a ground pork sausage
mixed with fresh parsley, black pepper, salt, and pecorino romano (ANOTHER reason to love
this).  One ring will feed up to 5 people in this dish.  You will need the sausage, a large wide
skillet or pot, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 lbs. of cleaned and chopped fresh broccoli rabe, 2 cans of
cannellini beans, olive oil, white wine, hot pepper flakes, salt.  Not too many ingredients, but
it is a complete meal, served with Brooklyn or Hoboken's finest bread...

     Heat the pan up under medium heat, add some olive oil and add the sausage.  Let it brown
on one side for about 8 minutes.  In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add
the cleaned, rinsed, and chopped broccoli rabe.  Take care to not use the stalks, they are chewy
and never really soften up.  Add a clove of garlic to the water and cook for 15 minutes.  Contrary
to the current mode of serving crisp and vibrant colored vegetables, for this dish, and many
other southern Italian dishes, the vegetables are cooked till tender.  Turn the sausage.  Add a
little more oil, some hot pepper flakes  and 2 minced cloves of garlic.
(they show up in my cooking quite a bit i'm seeing...).Drain
the broccoli rabe.  Remove the sausage to a platter after the other side has cooked about 5 min.  Then add
the broccoli rabe to the pan.  Stir well, add the wine.  Salt and pepper to taste...then add the beans.
Stir, and add the sausage back to the pan.


Let this simmer for 10 minutes, then you are done.  Place this on a platter and cut
the sausage as you need, mixing it with the broccoli rabe, the beans, and a drizzle
of olive oil, a shower of some more pepper flakes..  This is a fantastic meal for a
winters' night, or day, or ....whatever...winter, spring, summer, fall....Luganega with
Broccoli Rabe and Cannellini, a nurturing and tasty dish that echoes the spirit of
the immigrants from Southern Italy..don't forget the Pecorino Romano (Locatelli
preferably) to finish it off!!