Sausages, Kale and Butternut Squash Saute Recipe
Once in a while I get my hands on good natural sausages (Grow and Behold, Jacks’s Gourmet, etc), and decide to include them in a larger dish. This latest star was just born, is delicious and deliciously funky, and was dinner entre nous this past Shabbos, for my husband and I, a most appreciative audience. Whereas I find that sausages eaten on their own are much too salty, when they are included in larger dish with no salt added (paella, stews, omelets. etc) yield a dish with just the right amount of salt.
This dish took me a few minutes to make from beginning to end. This past Friday was very harried for me; I knew I would have very limited time to make dinner, and looked for prewashed baby kale (which I love because it doesn’t have those thick ribs and so is very quick cooking), and precut butternut squash (Ditto: peeled, seeded, diced: Yay!) So: In a pinch, never use inferior ingredients, always use the perfect ingredient but prepped whenever necessary; of course I do not recommend making a habit out of it, as commercially prepped ingredients come at a significantly higher price, but once in a while they are a lifesaver.
This dish is quite elastic, as you can use many other quick-cooking goodies instead of (or just 1-2 in addition to) the ones I used: spinach, arugala, Swiss chard, frozen corn, shredded potato, zucchini or carrots, mushrooms , tomatoes, canned beans etc…. Short and sweet selection, as always.
Fresh sage is magical with sausages and green leaves. It’s quite easy to find in produce markets, no reason to forgo it.
Get yourself a large skillet, 14, even 16 inches: No need to make it nonstick, stainless steel is great, but nonstick will do just great if this is all you have: You will be amazed how many wonderful dishes you can whip up in minutes in the right size skillet!
If you are making a larger dish, do not hesitate to add diced portobello mushrooms (add them right after the onions are fried, cook 2-3 minutes before adding next ingredients), tiny Brussels sprouts, etc…
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- I pound natural sausages, any kind you like (beef, turkey, lamb), any flavor you like (spicy, mild, herb etc) peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1 large onion, diced small
- 8-10 cups sliced dark greens, ribs removed before slicing: Swiss chard, kale, spinach etc
- 1 small butternut squash, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled (in a rush: unpeeled OK) and cut in 1-inch dice
- 4-5 sage leaves, minced
- 1 cup water, dry white wine or sake, or a combination of water and wine (wine restricted: all water OK)
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sausage, and saute on a high flame, until the onion and sausage are nice and brown, 2-3 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, give a mixture a good stir, the leaves will wilt in no time. Cover the skillet, reduce the temperature but leave it still at a medium high flame. Cook for about 5 minutes, a drop longer if the butternut is not tender (poke it with a knife to check). Serve hot.
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