White Beans & Sausage

Note, this recipe calls for preparing dried beans. You can substitute steps 1 and 2 in the recipe by using 4 (15 oz) cans of beans, rinsed and drained.
Ingredients
Beans
1 Pound dried cannellini beans
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 - 5 Fresh sage leaves
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
4 Black peppercorns
Salt
Beans with sausage
5 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 Pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
4 Garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
4 Canned plum tomatoes, chopped
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 Cup tomato pur�e
Salt (about 2 teaspoons) and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the beans under cold running water. Place beans in a large pot and cover by at least a couple of inches with cold water. Let soak for at least 4 hours.
Drain the beans. Add 3 quarts of water back to the beans in the pot. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the sage leaves, 2 cloves crushed garlic, and the peppercorns. Cover, bring to a simmer on medium heat, and simmer beans for one hour; season to taste with salt. Lower the heat so that the beans are barely simmering. Cook for an additional 1 to 2 hours, or until beans are just tender. Note that the fresher the beans the shorter the cooking time, the older the beans the longer. Remove from heat and let cool in cooking liquid. Set aside 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, drain the rest from the beans.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat and brown sausage, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the reserved bean cooking liquid, 4 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, chopped tomatoes, and red pepper flakes, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Add the reserved beans and tomato pur�e, season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer a few minutes longer, stirring gently, until sausage is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Be careful not to break up the beans.