April 26, 2010 - 10:57 pm
Recipe at a Glance:
1 small or medium onion, cut into thin slivers
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbs olive oil
2 bunches of Swiss chard, kale, or spinach, stems removed and torn into medium pieces
pinch of kosher salt
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper (heat to taste, I like lots!)
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup of wine or stock
1 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes*
1 14 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained**
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Utensil/bowl use: Minimal – cutting board, knife, large bowl, large pot, large spoon
Serve for: a hearty, healthy weeknight dinner
While I have my heart set on using this site as a way to “teach” a few of the recipes that pass through my kitchen, this in no way means that I am an expert in it (cue the diaster post of last week). Additionally, I keep no family cookbook or any compendium of recipes that have been passed down over the years. I only know one family recipe by heart and it has the dubious name of “Strawberry Stuff” wherein “Stuff” means a tub of sour cream plus lots of chopped pecans. And because I am also one to try and eat healthily, my memory of this recipe is getting a little rusty and I have my doubts I will be refreshing it any time soon.
So this leaves me trolling the internet for recipes that have an equal mix of ease, health benefits, taste, and last but not least, keep me entertained in the kitchen. Recipes also have to pass Chris’s taste test, which can be difficult considering he met me during a time in his life when he was well into the meat-and-potatoes-make-a-meal camp. Luckily he’s not one to stick his feet in the mud so we have been gradually trying out meals that incorporate greens, beans, and *gasp* no meat.
March 21, 2010 - 11:57 pm
Recipe at a Glance
8 oz dried pasta
3/4 lb Italian sausage
5 garlic cloves
1 – 1 1/2 lb bunch of kale
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbs crushed red pepper (optional)
2 tbs of olive oil, as needed.
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Utensil/bowl use: minimal – Sauce pot, skillet, cutting board, knife, spatula, colander
Serve for: an easy weeknight meal
The sun shone this week. For about three whole days in a row. The dark, rich earth had finally loosed itself of the last remnants of snow to be able to reflect a warm smile back at the sky.
Ok, now this might sound a little ridiculous coming from me and my non-poetic ways but there is something about that first spring sunshine that makes me think about the world anew. The winters in Chicago are so strong and dreary that they begin to seem eternal. That first glimpse of dry dirt is more exciting than seeing the first gift appear under the Christmas tree. I took the opportunity to run outside and to stroll along the lakefront, relishing in warm breezes.
As has come to be expected of March, and sadly of April, the sunshine was fleeting and there was snow on the ground again by the time I woke up the next morning. However brief, the warmer weather made me have a hankering for spring veggies, most notably, kale.
Kale is a favorite of mine and it goes especially well with sausage. The strong flavor of the kale always balances nicely with the richness of sausage. I also like adding obscene amounts of kale such that I should really rename this dish Kale and Sausage Pasta. But I understand kale might not be the favorite of others like it is with me. I highly recommend trying kale this way, and try not to long for spring.
A very simple cast of characters: kale, garlic, pasta and sausage are the only main ingredients. Wash kale and tear leaves from the stems and tough ribs.
Boil 2 quarts of water in a large saucepan to cook the pasta. Salt the water it if that is your thing.
I got a nice boil going. While I am pretty sure everyone has seen a pot of boiling water, I wanted to share mine just for the fun of it.
Add about half a package of dried pasta, about 8 oz. Now this is more pasta than the two servings needed for tonight’s dinner, but this dish makes great leftovers for lunch to take to work.
Cook pasta according to package instructions.
Coarsely chop 5 cloves of garlic. I like chopping them into little “chips” that crisp in the skillet.
Set stove to medium heat and preheat skillet. Heat oil until it shimmers.
Fry garlic for a few minutes until it gets lightly browned.
Add (or don’t) 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper. This dish is spicy but not especially hot with this level of heat.
Cook pepper and garlic for a minute more.
Once pasta has finished cooking, remove it from its water and set pasta aside. Keep water on medium heat and dunk kale into reserved water.
While kale is cooking, remove the casing from the sausage and cook it in the skillet with the garlic and crushed red pepper. Gradually break up the sausage into little pieces while cooking.
Let kale cook for 2-3 minutes. It will wilt and shrink to about half size.
Briefly drain the kale before placing it into the skillet.
Mix kale and sausage together and make sure that the sausage is cooked thoroughly. This should only take a minute or two more.
Mix pasta with sausage and kale.
Add salt and pepper as desired, sprinkle with a little bit of cheese, and enjoy!
Sausage and Kale Pasta
8 oz dried pasta*
3/4 lb Italian sausage
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 – 1 1/2 lb bunch of kale
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbs crushed red pepper (optional)
2 tbs of olive oil, as needed
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Once pasta is cooked, drain pasta but reserve cooking water in pot to cook the kale. Remove tough stems and ribs from kale leaves and cook for 3-4 minutes in the hot water used for boiling the pasta.
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat until it shimmers. Fry garlic in oil until it is lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add crushed red pepper to oil, if using, and cook for a minute more. Remove sausage from casing and add to skillet. Cook until the sausage is browned, breaking up sausage while cooking.
Once sausage is cooked, add boiled kale and pasta to skillet. Toss all together to mix and heat thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan over the pasta and serve.
*any type of pasta can be used in this dish. I have used both linguine and bowtie pasta, as seen in these pictures.
February 8, 2010 - 9:50 pm
Recipe at a glance:
A giant bunch of kale
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
Kosher or sea salt
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min dry time; 10-15 min cook time
Utensil/bowl use: Minimal – mixing bowl, baking sheet, parchment paper
Difficulty: Easy
Serve for: veggie snacks or fun side dish
Kale is something that I never had back in Texas. I could guess that my parents didn’t care for it. They liked things like turnip greens, and even then only on holidays, and doubly so, only if cooked with some sort of salty pork product. To me, dark, leafy greens were always soggy and slimy – characteristics that my family appreciated, but not me. So when I got kale this summer in my local, organic farmers co-op veggie box, I was at a loss for what to do with this curious looking, fiberlicious leaf. I didn’t even know what it was. I had to google image search for it. Epicurious to the rescue, I found several tasty kale recipes, which will gradually be shared here as the year progresses. Anyways, as we got deeper into the winter and the vegetable co-op had less and less leafy greens and more and more peppers, mushrooms, and squash, I got a deep craving for some dark greens. It also helped that I had just found this recipe on Steamy Kitchen and it looked irresistible. Supposedly it is kid friendly, but I can’t speak to that. I do know that it is surprisingly dog friendly once a piece hits the floor.
These kale chips are absolutely phenomenal! Now, they didn’t transport me to the bliss of summer on my snowy winter afternoon – the grip of the Chicago winters is a bit too strong for that. But what they did do was briefly satiate my desire for strong, crispy, fresh greens, at least until the last chip was finished, which came all too soon because they were that delicious. If you are a fan of kale, make these immediately. If you aren’t, make these and become a fan. If you have no idea what kale is, like I once did, I hope this is your first recipe using it.
February 5, 2010 - 3:08 pm
Recipe at a glance:
28 oz. canned whole peeled tomatoes
5 tbs unsalted butter
2 small or 1 large yellow onion (peeled and halved)
salt and pepper to taste
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 50 min
Utensil/bowl use: Minimal: Sauce pot, knife, cutting board, spoon
Difficulty: Easy!
Serve this for: an easy weeknight meal, or when you need tomato sauce
I recently made this sauce one night when I was all by my lonesome preparing for a huge presentation. Normally on stressful nights prepping for some big assignment, I’ll get takeout for dinner or cobble together some sort of popcorn/mini wheats/chips concoction and call it dinner. However, upon learning of this recipe, it appeared easier than either of those options and so I went for it. I dumped everything in a pot, forgot about it, and then came back an hour later only to be sent into a tomato-butter induced reverie. This sauce is fantastic. But then again, if something has most of a stick of butter in it, it better be worth every calorie. On a night when I have been studying for 12 hours straight, oh how I need those calories. Even when I am not working hard and it might be a cold, bleary, in-pajamas-all-day, winter evening, every drop of this sauce is worth it.
