MarcaRelli 2024
I don’t like hot Italian sausage. I like “sweet” Italian sausage, you know, the ones with the fennel seeds in them. But when I stumbled upon a one pound package of Botto’s brand hot Italian sausage for $ 1.49 what could I do? As the author of a budget friendly cookbook like Povertstew I felt obligated to buy it. I bought two packs. But now I have a problem. What am I going to do with it? One thing I know for sure is that I’m going to use it in a soup. The watery soup will temper the heat of that hot sausage.
I don’t really like Kale either but my wife does. She thinks Kale is one of the all time healthiest things to eat. She likes to slow bake Kale in the oven then salt it to get Kale chips. I like to sit on the couch and open up a bag of Lay’s to get potato chips. Kale is considered a “bitter” green and boy does it live up to its reputation. Kale offers a real vitamin punch too particularly vitamin C and Calcium.
Now in mathematics multiplying two negative numbers yields a positive result.* So I wondered if the same is true of food pairings. I don’t care for hot Italian sausage and I’m not a fan of kale but if I put them together might I get a positive result? Hey it works in mathematics so why not elsewhere. Besides, unlike mathematicians, I have garlic.
And while I’m on the subject of garlic you may or may not have noticed that I NEVER use garlic and onion in the same recipe. Using both garlic and onion breaks every law of God and nature. Use one or the other, never both.
.Need This
4 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced
1 – 16 ounce package of frozen chopped Kale
2 pounds hot Italian sausage
1 quart of chicken broth
Olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
Do This
-Hiss a little cooking spray into a frypan and put a medium heat under it.
-Drop in the hot Italian sausage and fry turning occasionally so they brown on all sides.
Let the sausages cool.
-Pour a glug of olive oil into a soup pot and put a medium heat under it.
-Add the sliced garlic to the oil and fry until the garlic gets to a golden color.
-Throw the frozen kale in and stir until wilted.
-Slice the sausages crosswise into 1/4 inch medallions.
-Fry the sausage and kale for about 5 minutes stirring often.
-Add the chicken both and stir well.
– Add salt and pepper to taste.
– Reduce heat and bring to a simmer boil. Boil for about 10 minutes uncovered.
– Remove from heat and cover. Serve hot in soup mugs. Shake in some grated Parm if desired.
Serves 4. My Cost Approx $ 7.81 total, about $ 1.95 per serving.
*I’m Happy (+) I’m not happy (-) I’m not NOT happy (+) See? But remember.. two wrongs don’t make a right.. but three lefts do. – GMN