Try this Quick Sausage, Kale, and Crouton Sauté from Deb Perelman’s new cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day! It’s a quick meal that’s easy to adapt and always a hit at dinner.
The beauty of Deb Perelman – herself, her blog and her books – is her sense of humor, humility and grace. She understands that cooking for a family is different than cooking for your own personal creative expression or for a group of cherished friends.
When the food meets little kids’ dinner deadlines, life gets pretty intense. Nobody is tougher than a hungry toddler lying an hour before bed.
Get the book! Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and no-frills new favorites from Deb Perelman
Smitten Kitchen Every Day has over 100 recipes ranging from bread and biscuits, breakfast, vegetarian entrees, meat entrees and desserts.
On the breakfast side, ricotta blini with honey, orange, and sea salt caught my attention. These little cheese-filled pancakes are studded with currants for an extra sweetness. Deb also provides recipes for classics like blueberry muffins – it’s always nice to find a recipe that challenges your own tastes!
What I probably appreciate more than anything else is Deb’s inclusion of accessible, uncomplicated veggie entrees (and not a single entree includes a zucchini noodle). She uses canned beans and pre-washed, chopped kale without compromise.
She knows that the goal is to serve good food, full of flavor but with the realistic expectations of those of us who put it on the table every day. The recipes and their writing are entirely free of pomp and circumstance. I love her for that.
I have several recipes from the book that I want to try, but the first on my list was this easy and flavorful bratwurst, kale, and crouton.
It had all the ingredients of a great meal, like sausage, beans, and veggies, but its biggest selling point was that it only required one pan to cook. (May I get an amen from all you mothers out there!)
I’ve made this dish twice already. The second time I added a small jar of artichoke hearts and an extra handful of kale just to increase the veggie content. My whole family loved it both times. Although my kids chose the kale, they devoured the rest without a second thought.
The recipe calls for half a can of beans and about half a pound of sausage, without casings, which are somewhat awkward amounts to buy. If your family is big enough (or has big appetites) and you have a large enough skillet, this is an easy recipe to double. Consume the whole pack of sausage and can of beans.
Leftovers are great too, just reheat them on the stovetop to help the bread crisp up again.
Get the book! Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and no-frills new favorites from Deb Perelman
Quick Sausage, Kale and Crouton Sauté from Smitten Kitchen Every Day
Excerpt courtesy of Amorous kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and no-frills new favourites. Copyright © 2017 by Deborah Perelman. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission from the publisher.
ingredients
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olive oil
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2 cups (60G) 1 inch cube robust White bread (like sourdough or ciabatta)
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1/2 pound (225G) fresh sweet Italian sausageshousing removed
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1 clove garlicchopped or pressed
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3/4 cup (200G) cooked White beans (about half a 15.5 ounce can)
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2 big handful (or more, to taste) torn kale leaves
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Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
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Red pepper flakes, taste
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2 tablespoons (30ml) red wine vinegar
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Grated parmesan (Optional)
method
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Make the croutons
Heat two drops of oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread cubes and toast, stirring, until lightly browned and mostly crispy, 3 to 4 minutes.
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Cook the sausage
Push the croutons aside and add another gulp to the pan, then the garlic and sausage meat. Fry the sausage in small pieces until browned all over.
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Boil the vegetables and beans
Add the vegetables and cook until they begin to wilt, then add the beans and heat through. Season well with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes
Add vinegar to the pan and use it to scrape off any stuck bits.
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surcharge
Scrape the sauté pan into bowls, finish with cheese if desired and inhale.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 345 | calories |
| 20g | Fat |
| 25g | carbohydrates |
| 18g | protein |
