Tuscan Pork Roast and White Beans

My girls are coming to the mountains for the weekend! Hurrraaaahhhhh! My daughter, Kelley, and her two year old daughter, Emmie,  will be here in a few hours and I've been stirring around in the kitchen all morning. I want to have as much done ahead as possible so that I can "play" with Miss Emmie! Emmie likes loves black eye peas, so I found this yummy sounding pork roast with white beans that I hope everyone will enjoy. The roast is sure to be tender and juicy and the beans creamy and tasty. The house smells scrumptious! I just tasted a spoonful of beans and a pinch of pork so that I could vouch for its flavors. Oh my! I want to sit down NOW with a spoon and a plate!

You can cook this in a slow cooker for 8 hours on high or in your oven for 4 hours on 275degrees. Either way, soak the beans ahead (cover with water and let stand overnight, drain and add to recipe) or cover them with water and boil for 20 minutes, pour off the water and proceed.

The recipe calls for a Boston Butt, boneless shoulder pork roast. They were $15. Pork loin end roast was $5. Guess which one I used??? The roast was done before the beans, so I removed it and covered it with foil. I'll shred it and add back to the beans.

Slow Cooked Tuscan Pork Roast with White Beans
2 cups dried navy beans
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, divided
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston Butt)
4 cups water
2 bay leaves

Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven and cover with water 2 inches above beans. Cover and let stand for 8 hours. (see note above) Drain beans.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Combine 2 teaspoons sage, 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cloves minced garlic. Rub mixture over pork roast. Place beans, remaining ingredients and pork roast in  large heavy pan (or slow cooker). Cover and bake until pork is very tender and beans are creamy. Discard bay leaves. Pull pork apart into chunks and serve with beans.