Mon Petit Chou, Part Deux

I'm not sure about where you live, but the weather here in NYC has slowly been getting milder, and with it my impatience for spring and it's culinary bounty have hit an all-time high. My last visit to the farmers market for fresh produce was met with little more than the remnants of winter roots, and I left with a bag full of cabbage and the hope that my new herb plants could tide me over until conditions improved. So this week, as the temperature rose to a lovely spring-like 60 degrees, I found myself wishing for something more than the ugly reminders of winter sitting in my fridge. But since that's what I had and I didn't want it to go to waste, I figured I'd just have to find a way to work with what was hopefully the last of my winter supply. Inspired by the recent festivities of St. Patrick's Day, I figured I could take my leftover tiny head of cabbage and make a modern (and significantly tastier) cabbage soup. And since I don't believe in simply boiling bacon (how could they mess that one up?), I decided to make mine chock full of meaty goodness.

This is a really great way to use up an entire head of cabbage without feeling as if you're going to OD on the stuff. I don't really know anyone that looks forward to a big, fat plate of cabbage, so a soup is a natural vehicle for making it more palatable. The first time I had cabbage soup was during a cold and rainy trip through Ireland. I was a college student at the time and was told that the best way to see Ireland in a weekend was to take a bus tour. And so, I spent two and a half days on a bus that improbably wound it's way through dirt roads and up the many rolling green hills of Ireland, spilling gas and exhaust all over the ruins and ancient abbeys where we paused. There was almost no food and lots of Irish whiskey, until our last day when the tour guide/bus driver/purveyor of whiskey insisted we eat a proper Irish dinner at a proper Irish pub. The options seemed bleak (has no one in Ireland heard of frying?), but ever the intrepid foodie, I went full force, ordering the cabbage and boiled bacon soup. Needless to say, it was bland and managed to make bacon look and taste worst than the sole of my shoe. I was put-off from any soup containing cabbage for years, but have recently redeemed the poor vegetable as one that needs a little more TLC to reach it's full potential.

And so I began by browning the sausage (chicken-apple) then removing it and sauteing the cabbage in the sausage oil and brown bits until it was slightly wilted. Then I added thinly sliced garlic, rosemary, and a hint of salt and pepper. Once it was reduced in volume (by half) and half cooked, I added some tomato paste, parsley and a hint of paprika. Then I added the beans and chicken broth, bringing the whole thing to a boil until the cabbage softened a bit more, but still had a tiny bit of bite (no mushy cabbage here!). The sausage went back into the pot and the whole dish was ready to be served. I made this as a quick after work dinner (all done in 30 minutes), with canned beans, but you could certainly use fresh beans for that slow cooked taste and thick, starchy consistency. It's really well rounded with the tiniest hint of spice, and could be even more filling and hearty for colder days with the addition of a few potatoes. Here's my recipe, I hope it helps tide you over until Spring is officially here!

Cabbage Soup With Sausage, Chorizo And White Beans

1 small head of cabbage, cored and thinly sliced

1 15 oz can of white beans (cannellini beans or great northern), rinsed and drained

4 cups of chicken broth

2 mild flavored sausages (I used chicken-apple), sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 dry chorizo, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 Tbsp fresh parsley

1/2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

1. In a soup pot, brown sausage (not chorizo) in olive oil until dark and crispy on the outside. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add cabbage to the pot and saute until slightly wilted and reduced in volume by half. Add garlic and rosemary and saute until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Stir in tomato paste and paprika and  cook until dissolved, about 30 seconds. Add beans, chorizo and broth and bring to a boil. Cook until cabbage is done (not mushy, with a little bite), and add the sausage before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

-Laura

Recession Special Recipe: Pasta with Sausage, Greens and White Beans

Today we have a nice treat in the second installment of the Recession Special: a super tasty restaurant recipe that is as affordable as it is easy to make. During a recent trip to Mia Dona (chef Michael Psilakis and restauranteaur Donatella Arpaia's place), one dish on the rustic Mediterranean menu sounded plain but just seemed to scream "winter". It was a simple pasta dish of orecchiette, kale, sausage, and white beans. There was no particular sauce, nothing gloppy or saucy to overpower the lovely pieces of the dish. Instead, it was all held together by the sum of it's parts: fresh ingredients working together in perfect balance. The sausage was spicy, but not overpowering, and the kale was cooked perfectly, providing a little toothy bite. The white beans were unexpected in pasta, but sweet and delicious, adding a lovely contrast to the heartiness of the kale and the heat from the sausage.

The trick to mastering this dish is taking advantage of an old restaurant trick that hasn't translated to every home cook quite yet: pasta water. Every chef-authored book or novel I've read so far has touted the many uses of pasta water in a restaurant kitchen. It quite literally becomes the glue that holds any noodle based dish together. The advantage in a restaurant is that the same water may be used over and over, infusing it with the wonderful starchy qualities that make it indispensable. It's also nice and salty, so seasoning is a cinch. The best explanation as to why we should never strain pasta and always remove it with tongs (for long noodles) or a slotted spoon or spider (for short pastas) that I've read is in Bill Buford's excellent book Heat. He explains the entire history of how we got into the habit of straining pasta and letting all that tasty, useful liquid go right down the drain. This is a very, very important trick for recreating any restaurant pasta dish. A truly great restaurant pasta dish is always light and fresh, even when it involves a cream or tomato sauce. Using the pasta water and the fat of your choice (olive oil, butter, etc...) to your advantage is the first and most important step towards making any restaurant quality pasta dish at home.

This recipe in particular is very accessible because the ingredients are fairly interchangeable to suit your needs. For example, you don't have to use kale if you can't find any or don't like it--any hearty green will do. I used rainbow swiss chard for added color in my dish, and just made sure to leave it a bit al dente to replicate that bite. As far as the sausage, the important thing is that it have a bit of spice. I used a spicy chicken and apple sausage, just to up the winter ante. A cheapy can of cannellini beans and your pasta of choice round out the dish, which shouldn't cost you more than 10-12 dollars total to feed 4. And since the dish is not sauce heavy, any noodle of your liking will do. Here's the basic recipe I came up with, so take it and make it your own!

Pasta with Spicy Sausage, Greens and White Beans

1 box dried pasta

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 large spicy sausages (removed from casing if fresh, sliced if fully cooked)

4 cups hearty greens (kale, swiss chard, mustard or collard greens)

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving pasta water when done (about 2 cups).

2. Heat olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) in a very large non-stick skillet and add sausage. Cook until browned, then add cannellini beans and a pinch of salt, cooking about 2 minutes until heated through.

3. Add pasta to skillet, tossing to coat. Add 1/2 cup pasta water, butter, parmesan cheese and the greens (in batches) until just wilted. Toss to coat and season the entire dish with salt and pepper. Add more pasta water as necessary until the dish is moist but not runny. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

-Laura 

More Than A Sausage

One of the things I love about the greenmarket is that there's much more than just fruits and veggies there. On any given Saturday there can be a number of unexpected natural products on sale, from hides, to soap, and even merino lambs wool. I've bought a lot of meat products at a few of the stands (mostly pork) and I've always made it a point to stop by the seafood stand to see what's freshest catch that day (I often make it too late and miss out on the good stuff). Last weekend I spotted one of the chefs from Craft (Tom Colicchio's restaurant) scooping up huge boxes of heirloom tomatoes and other fresh veggies. By the time I ran into him on my way home, his huge cart chock full of fresh seasonal ingredients put my overflowing canvas bag to shame. But then again, I'm just feeding myself for a week.

One stand that I'm guessing the chef did not visit is the one that sells merino wool. Although it's enveloped in yarn and sheepskin rugs, occasionally there's a sign that hangs over the stand announcing the arrival of sausage. I usually buy from the same purveyor, but the lovely ladies with the merino wool won me over. I was disappointed to find that my normal supplier was out of merguez sausage (again!), so I sauntered over to the merino wool ladies and found that they had an entire fridge of the stuff. I'd had a craving for it for months and was having trouble finding some, so I quickly snatched up a few rolls. Merguez is a North African sausage (particularly popular in Morocco) that's just teaming with spices, both hot and fragrant. From paprika to cayenne and cinnamon, there's a whole lot of flavor in one merguez sausage, and each one is different. It doesn't always have to be super spicy, but it often contains harissa, so there is definitely the possibility of lots of spice. I personally like the sweet and spicy factor that's rare in most sausages that aren't served for breakfast.

I served my merguez over couscous after grilling and quickly braising it. I added some chickpeas and sun-dried tomatoes to the braising liquid, which worked out really well. The sun-dried tomatoes plumped up in the warm broth and the chickpeas added great flavor and texture to the couscous. There was a little extra braising liquid which kept the whole dish nice and moist. This would be an amazing quick dinner for a busy night, since it really only took 15-20 minutes to make from start to finish. You could definitely put more veggies into the braising liquid, including frozen ones (carrots, peas, and even asparagus would be delicious). I also put in some olives (mostly as a garnish) for a nice briny contrast to the sweetness and heat of the sausage. Here's what I did to make mine:

Quick Braised Merguez with Couscous and Chickpeas

8 merguez sausage links
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
1 cup couscous (I used vegetable flavored)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
vegetable oil
salt
pepper

1. Cook sausage in a skillet on medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Lower heat to medium and add 1 cup broth, sun-dried tomatoes and chickpeas. Cook covered until sausages are cooked through, about 7 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring remaining 1 cup of broth, butter and olive oil to a boil. Add couscous, season with salt, and cook until couscous is ready, about 5-7 minutes or according to your package directions.

3. Plate couscous and top with sausage, chickpea and sun-dried tomato mixture. Garnish with roughly chopped olives. Enjoy!

-Laura

Onions And Peppers And Peas..Oh My.

When I first started this blog, I spoke a lot about inspiration. I'm still fascinated by what inspires each and every one of us to cook (or not cook) certain foods. These days I seem to be inspired by pretty much anything, and rightfully so, since I can't very well write about the same dish every day. But sometimes just the mention of an ingredient, color, or an idea gets something going in my mind. Last week, for example, I saw a beautiful photo of linguine with onions and peppers and thought, "Wow, that looks really good, someone's really going to enjoy it. But not me, because I hate peppers and onions in my pasta." I'm not quite sure why I never liked these two ingredients in pasta, but something about their cooked texture turns me off and I never really consider them as ingredients worth adding to noodles. But, the lovely photo got the best of me and the idea of using those flavors as a way to cook out of my comfort zone was embedded in my mind for the rest of the week.

So, I had to figure out a way to bring these two flavors into a pasta dish. I was having some trouble working out a recipe and after a week of blank stares into my recipe notebook I decided I'd try making something else. Finally settling on branching out by using sausage in the dish, I set off for the supermarket to do the month's food shopping (I usually plan way ahead). It was just my luck that as I went to pick up a few packages of chorizo I came across some lovely fresh sausage made right there in my supermarket. What was even more surprising was that they made their own flavored sausages, including...a pepper and onion sausage(!). It was the one solution I hadn't thought of, but it was perfect. I decided to add some peas and a few of the spices that I love for added flavor. I went with sage and fennel to echo some of the flavors already in the sausage, and made sure to toast the fennel seeds and leave them whole.

I didn't want to mask all of the lovely onion and pepper flavor that I'd been searching for with a heavy sauce, so I simply deglazed the pan with a splash of white wine and added a couple tablespoons of butter and a big ladleful of starchy pasta water. It was a nice and simple way to finish off the dish and give every flavor equal time. And best of all, the whole dish came together in about 20 minutes, and left me with plenty of food for lunch the next day. You can definitely use any type of noodle or pasta you'd like, but I wanted to experiment with something new for me, like pappardelle. Here's how to do it for yourself:

Pappardelle with Onion-Pepper Sausage and Peas

3 fresh onion and pepper sausages, cases removed
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 Tbsp sage
1/4 Tbsp fennel seed, toasted
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 package pappardelle
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
salt
pepper

1. Heat oil in a large pan and add sausage, breaking it up into smaller pieces. When it's half cooked, add garlic, fennel and sage.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook pasta.

3. When the sausage is fully cooked, add the wine to deglaze and scrape browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the peas.

4. When the peas have warmed through, add the cooked pasta to the pan, along with a ladleful of pasta water (about 1/2 cup). Remove from the heat and stir in butter until melted. If the dish looks a bit dry, add more pasta water. Enjoy!

-Laura