With Mike and I both working on prep for our Valentine’s Day dinner, I wanted to keep dinner really simple last night. We picked up some beautiful fennel pollen sausage from Violet Hill last weekend, and my original plan was to make a pot of sausage, white bean & kale soup, but I forgot to pre-soak the beans and we didn’t have any canned in the cupboard, so I went for a pasta toss. I removed the sausage from its casings, crumbled it and cooked it down until it was browned, then added a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, coating the sausage with it and letting it caramelize. I added one head of kale, chopped, to the pan and sautéed it until it was bright green and tender, added salt and a little pasta water, then tossed in my cooked pasta. I added some freshly grated parm off the heat before serving. This was nothing fancy, just a good, hearty meal for a chilly night.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
so like maybe i could crash your V day dinner? i’m sure you wouldn’t mind… just set an extra plate. ok? ummm, be there at 7:30. i’ll bring wine.
i kid i kid.
dinner tonight at anthos…
and then there’s lunch tomorrow…
btw – this dinner looks wonderful – i love this kinda food. simple and delish.
Ha ha! You’re going to love Anthos (well, I *hope* you do). And I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!
Is that Kale and White bean soup adapted from Bittman? I tried that recipe once and, man, it did not work out for me. Yours looks lovely, however.
Thanks, Lisa! I actually haven’t seen Bittman’s recipe, it was just something I tossed together, but it seemed like a pretty natural combination of ingredients to me, and for a while it was in pretty regular rotation in our kitchen.
Have a lovely Valentine’s Day with Mike, Jennifer! Can’t wait to read about the dinner.
Same to you and Marion, Terry! And happy V-day to all of you sweethearts out there in internetland!
happy valentine’s day jennifer! I know I comment very rarely until lately
but I can’t wait to see more of what you have to cook up. have a good one.
Gorgeous photo.
Just looking at that dish makes me feel warm inside.
We made this dish last night, and it was superb. This was the third dish for you site I’ve made, and they’ve all been simple to prepare and tasted great! When is your cookbook coming out? I think you’re truly talented. Thanks!
Thanks, everyone!
Gail – I’m so glad to hear that this and the other recipes I’ve written about have worked for you!