| 1 | Place beans in a pot with enough water to barely cover, cover the pot and cook over low heat until beans are barely soft, about 2 hours. |
| 2 | Add water to keep the beans just covered as necessary. |
| 3 | When beans are done, remove from heat, drain and set aside. |
| 4 | Meanwhile, cut the stems out of fresh tomatoes and plunge them into boiling water for barely 1 minute, or until skins crack. |
| 5 | Remove from water, peel the tomatoes, cut them in half crosswise and squeeze out the seeds. |
| 6 | If using canned whole tomatoes, cut them in half and squeeze out seeds. |
| 7 | Cut each tomato half in quarters and set aside. |
| 8 | Cook pasta until barely soft according to the manufacturer"s directions. |
| 9 | Drain and mix with the beans. |
| 10 | Lay the chard leaves on a work surface and cut out the center stem. |
| 11 | Roughly chop the leaves and thinly slice the stems. |
| 12 | Set aside. |
| 13 | preheat oven to 350°F. |
| 14 | Combine oil and sausages in a dutch oven, place over medium heat and cook 3 minutes. |
| 15 | Pour off the fat, add the garlic and cook, stirring, another minute. |
| 16 | Add the tomatoes, beans and pasta, wine, oregano, chard stems, salt and pepper. |
| 17 | Cover and place in the oven for 20 minutes. |
| 18 | When it"s time to get dinner on the table, add chopped chard to the casserole. |
| 19 | If the casserole appears dry, add up to 1 cup water. |
| 20 | Replace in the oven for 5 minutes. |
| 21 | Serve piping hot from the oven and offer grated cheese. |
| 22 | michael roberts - prodigy guest chefs cookbook |
