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1
Place the beans in a large bowl with water, using your hand swirl the beans around to rinse them and discard any small stones or beans that look brown.
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2
Drain the beans in a colander, rinse and refill the bowl with beans and a generous amount of water (at least 2 to 3 inches above the beans) and let soak overnight or for at least 6 hours.
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3
Drain the beans, rinse well and place in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add 7 cups water, 5 of the sage leaves, the tomato halves and bring to a boil uncovered over med-high heat.
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4
Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered until the beans are tender 1 1/2 to 2 hours, be sure to test for doneness.
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5
Drain and reserve the beans, discard the sage and tomato halves.
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6
In a large sauce pan, heat Bertolli(R) Classico Olive Oil over medium heat. Add garlic, 5 remaining sage leaves, onions, carrots, celery, red pepper flakes and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until the ingredients are soft and translucent.
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7
Stir in the cooked beans and crushed tomatoes. Add the salt, pepper and the chicken stock.
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8
Stir together and simmer gently. When all ingredients are combined and warmed, stir in the mascarpone cheese until melted and evenly folded into the tomato and bean mixture.
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9
Add salt and pepper to taste.
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10
Cover saucepan to keep warm and turn off heat until ready to serve.
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11
Cook the sausage by braising or grilling.
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12
Once the sausages are cooked, transfer them to a cutting board and cut into halves or thirds.
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13
Transfer the warm beans to individual bowls and arrange sausage pieces on top.
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14
Garnish with a sprig of fresh sage.
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15
To serve 4 to 5, prepare the same recipe with 1 package of Johnsonville Italian sausage.
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16
* mascarpone cheese is a mild flavored, creamy Italian cheese and can be found in the specialty cheese section of most grocery stores.
