Polish Bean Stew (with Cabanossi Sausage)

Polish bean stew with cabanossi sausage or Fasolka po Bretonsku, a hearty and delicious meal for cold winter days.

I love beans! And sausages. And potatoes. This cabanossi sausage stew reunites them all in one pot. Quick to make, hearty and thoroughly delicious Polish stew.

Strangely enough, I know quite a few people who don’t enjoy eating beans. I grew up eating lots of beans in Romania and I have quite a few recipes on the blog to prove it. 🙂

Have a look at these recipes that my grandmother used to cook all the time: the White Bean Soup, the Romanian White Bean Dip – Fasole batuta or Grandma’s Bean and Vegetable Stew.

This is a Polish recipe, something we had for dinner in the hotel where we were staying during our holiday in Poland last year. Like I have mentioned above, I totally have a thing for beans, so unlike my kids, who could not see the point of having a bean stew in a hotel, I was particularly happy about it.

The recipe is very similar to a Romanian white bean stew recipe and maybe that was a reason for me to enjoy it even more, it reminded me of my childhood.

So, when we were back home, it didn’t take long until I looked for a typical Polish bean stew recipe and cooked it myself. Actually, this was the first Polish recipe I have ever cooked, not a cake like this amazing Polish Bezowy Torte, but beans. Obvious to see where my priorities lie…

What do you need?

White beans:

• Dried or canned. If you have the time to cook the beans yourself it’s great, I do it myself when I manage to remember to soak them in time.
• But as I am not always that organized, I do make this bean stew (or other bean recipes) with canned beans as well, and they are always delicious.
• Using canned beans saves the soaking and the long cooking time, meaning that you will have this dish ready to be served in less than an hour.

Cabanossi sausage:

• Also called kabanos or kabana, they are quite popular in Europe.
• They are Polish pork sausages, usually quite thin (but not always).
• The thinner sort are usually slightly drier, while the thicker are softer.
• I used the thicker ones to make the stew.

Smoked ham or bacon:

• You can use either ham or bacon, the only thing that’s important for the flavor is that they are smoked.

Other ingredients: potatoes, carrots, onion, pureed tomatoes and tomato paste, spices.

Tips for making a good stew

• If using dried beans, remember to soak them overnight.
• Cook them properly. Most package instructions will tell you to cook the beans between 30 and 60 minutes. That rarely works, as the cooking time greatly depends on the size and especially the age of the beans.
• Start soon enough with the cooking process and check the beans regularly. They should be buttery soft, but not become mushy.
• If cooking the beans yourself, use the cooking water to make the stew. In this case, add 1 or 2 beef or chicken stock cubes to the dish, the beans` water is not as flavorful as meat stock.
• Most stews are best when reheated. If possible, cook the dish the day before you want to serve it. Keep it refrigerated and reheat before serving.

More warming stews?

Easy Potato Stew with Sausages and Vegetables

Gypsy Stew Recipe – Sah Hai Mas

Moldavian Pork Stew with Cheese, Eggs and Polenta – Tochitura

Stewed Sauerkraut with Meat Dumplings