BUDGET FRIENDLY MARRY ME KAROO BUTTER BEANS AND SAUSAGES
Recipe and photo: Rosemary Briggs
Tonight’s dinner was a true farm-pantry triumph. I wanted that rich, luxurious “Marry Me” style sauce, but without the expense of heavy cream or butter. Instead, I used full-cream Greek yoghurt and milk to get that perfect, velvety texture on a budget.
The absolute star of the show? The very last jar of sun-dried tomatoes I preserved at the end of summer. Opening that jar felt like catching a fleeting glimpse of the Karoo sun.
To turn it into a hearty, comforting supper for a cold night, I fried up some juicy pork sausages and two beautifully sliced onions, letting them soak up all that incredible flavor right in the pan before building the sauce. Pure magic.
- 1 packet sausages (I used pork, but use your favorite)
- 2 medium onions, sliced
- 1 can (400g) butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon oil (pour it straight from your sun-dried tomato jar for extra flavor)
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup full cream greek yoghurt (our secret to a rich sauce without the cream price tag!)
- 2 teaspoon Sugar
- ½ cup cheese, grated (whatever cheese is in your budget, mines cheddar)
- 2 large handfuls fresh chopped spinach
- salt and black pepper to taste
- Brown the sausages:
- In a large skillet, fry your sausages until beautifully browned and cooked through.
- Remove them from the pan and set aside, leaving those delicious pan juices behind.
- Caramelize the Onions:
- Add the 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato oil to the same skillet over medium heat.
- Toss in the 2 sliced onions and cook for 5–6 minutes until they are soft, sweet, and golden brown.
- Sauté the aromatics.
- Push the onions to the side slightly and add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, paprika and chilli flakes.
- Cook for another 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
- Build the creamy sauce:
- Turn the heat right down to low.
- Pour in the milk, scraping up all the savory bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Gently whisk in the greek yoghurt and grated cheese, stirring continuously until melted and perfectly smooth.
- Tip:
- Keep the heat low so the yoghurt stays silky.
- Bring it together:
- Stir the butter beans and the fried sausages back into the sauce.
- Let it simmer gently for about 5 minutes so everything heats through and absorbs those rich flavors.
- Add extra water if it looks a little dry.
- The green finish:
- Stir in the spinach and let it wilt for a minute or two.
- Season generously with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve it steaming hot straight from the pan, preferably with a thick slice of homemade crusty bread to mop up every last drop of that sauce.
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