Sausage, Beans & Greens Pasta

This is a great end of summer ~ early fall dish. I loved that it gobbled up my CSA collards and chard. I really love any dish that transforms greens into a crowd-pleaser! 🙂 The mashed beans made the sauce creamy.

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Claire Saffitz, via epicurious.com. I used garbanzo beans and a mix of collard greens, Swiss chard, and spinach. I also substituted sweet Italian sausage and modified the proportions. The fried rosemary garnish was essential.

Yield: Serves 6

• 1/3 cup (5 T) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 8 to 10 oz sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed (I used 3 sweet sausages)
• 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas or cannellini beans, rinsed, patted dry
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 16 oz (1 pound) paccheri, rigatoni, or other large tubular pasta (I used pennoni pasta)
• Kosher salt
• 8 to 10 cups (lightly packed) cut or torn escarole, kale, or Swiss chard leaves (I used 1/4-inch ribbons stemmed and halved collard greens, 1/2-inch ribbons stemmed Swiss chard (stems cut into 1/4-inch pieces and reserved), & baby spinach)
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 T unsalted butter

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium to medium-high. (I used a large enameled cast iron Dutch oven.)
2. Fry rosemary, turning, until crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
3. Add sausage to same pot and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a shallow bowl.
4. Add chickpeas to pot and cook, tossing occasionally and mashing some chickpeas with a spoon, until browned in spots, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer about half of chickpeas to plate with sausage.
5. Add wine to pot (and add the Swiss chard stems, if using), bring to a boil, and cook until liquid is almost completely evaporated, about 2 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 3 minutes less than package directions.
7. Using a spider or a slotted spoon, transfer pasta to pot with chickpeas and add the greens and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing often, until the greens are wilted, pasta is al dente, and sauce is thickened, about 4 minutes.
8. Add another 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid, then gradually add 1/2 cup cheese, tossing until melted and dissolved into a luxurious, glossy sauce.
9. Thin with more pasta cooking liquid if needed. Season with pepper, and more salt if needed. Add butter and toss to combine, then mix in reserved sausage and chickpeas.
10. Divide pasta among bowls or place in a large serving dish. Crumble fried rosemary over top and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Escarole, Pear, Parmesan, & Basil Salad

A fellow member of my CSA shared this recipe as a wonderful way to use the escarole and basil in our share. I loved it! The original recipe was published in November- I do think that this would be a terrific salad to serve on or around Thanksgiving or as a special winter salad. It was also great in July. 😉

The recipe was adapted from epicurious.com, contributed by Mindy Fox. I modified the proportions and used my favorite mustard vinaigrette instead of the suggested vinaigrette. I also used a Bartlett pear, our favorite, instead of Comice or Anjou. I loved the crunch from the hazelnuts.

Yield: Serves 6 as a side

For the Salad:

• 1/2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 to 6 T hazelnuts, coarsely chopped, or more, to taste
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 large head of escarole (about 3/4 pound), leaves cut into 1/2-inch ribbons and then torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large or 2 small Bartlett, Comice, or Anjou pear(s), cored, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 2 ounces Parmesan, shaved (I used Parmigiano-Reggiano)
• 1/2 cup (packed) basil leaves, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
• freshly ground black pepper
• flaky sea salt

For the Dressing:

• 1 shallot, cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 3 T red wine vinegar
• 6 T extra-virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium. Add hazelnuts and toast, stirring occasionally, until golden, 2–3 minutes. Season with a pinch of kosher salt. Remove from heat; set aside.
2. While the nuts cool, make the dressing. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a mini food processor and process until smooth. Set aside. (I transfer the dressing to a jar.)
3. Place escarole, pear slices, Parmesan shavings, basil, and about 1/3 of the reserved hazelnuts in a large bowl.
4. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the prepared salad.
5. Gently toss until salad is evenly dressed; season with sea salt and additional pepper, to taste. (You will have extra dressing to reserve for another salad.)
6. Top with remaining hazelnuts. Serve.

Double Mustard Sheet-Pan Chicken with Potatoes and Greens

I have a couple sheet-pan dinners to share. Cooking an entire meal on one sheet pan may be the ultimate method for easy back to school dinners. Love it.

This dish uses Dijon mustard in the marinade and whole grain mustard in the dressing. Perfect for all of the mustard chicken fans in my house.

This recipe was adapted from epicurious.com, contributed by Anna Stockwell. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, reduced the oil, and substituted my beautiful CSA arugula for the frisée. We ate it with Ritzy Summer-Squash Casserole. Great.

Yield: 6 servings

For the Chicken Marinade & Potatoes:

• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T honey
• 3 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 to 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick; about 2 lbs total), patted dry (I used 9 boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
• 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4 rosemary sprigs

For the Dressing & To Serve:

• 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
• 3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 tsp whole grain mustard
• 4 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 to 8 cups arugula, 1 small head of frisée, or 1/2 small head of escarole, trimmed, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves

1. Place a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 375°F, preferably on convection roast.
2. Whisk Dijon mustard, 2 T honey, and 1 T olive oil in a medium bowl to combine.
3. Season chicken on all sides with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Transfer to bowl with honey mustard and toss to coat. (I marinated the chicken for 4 hours in the refrigerator.)
4. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with remaining 2 T olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and remaining 1/2 tsp pepper.
5. Arrange chicken, “skin side” down, in the center of the sheet pan; discard excess marinade.
6. Arrange potatoes around outside of pan in an even layer, then turn cut side down (this will help them brown better). Arrange rosemary over potatoes.
7. Roast until chicken, flipping over to “skin side” up after 15 minutes, and potatoes are golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165°F, 20 to 25 minutes for boneless, skinless thighs or up to 30–40 minutes for bone-in meat.
8. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk garlic, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, olive oil, honey, and salt in a small bowl. Adjust seasoning, to taste.
9. Divide greens and parsley among plates, drizzle with dressing, then top with chicken and potatoes. Drizzle additional dressing over chicken and potatoes. Garnish with chopped parsley, as desired.

Do Ahead: Chicken can be marinated 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Slow Cooker Lentil Soup with Italian Sausage & Greens

I actually have a third tasty soup to share. This one is reminiscent of one of our family favorites, Lentil-Kielbasa Soup. Don’t worry- it’s not so similar that it will prevent me from making my tried and true lentil-sausage soup as well this season. 🙂

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Sarah Digregorio. I used French green lentils instead of black lentils, modified the proportions and incorporated a mixture of CSA greens including beet greens, broccoli greens and escarole. I also garnished the soup with my CSA parsley instead of basil.

This soup could easily be made on the stove top instead of in a slow cooker. I loved that it gobbled up my CSA greens too.

Yield: 6 servings

• 1 pound hot or sweet Italian pork sausage, loose or removed from its casing
• olive oil, if necessary
• 1 large red or yellow onion, chopped
• Kosher salt
• 10 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 2 oregano sprigs, leaves only, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• generous pinch of red-pepper flakes
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups dried lentils, preferably black beluga (I used French green lentils)
• 1 (14-ounce) can whole or chopped tomatoes
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 5 ounces greens, such as baby spinach or kale, or 1 medium bunch greens, such as chard or kale, stemmed and chopped (I used a mixture of beet & broccoli greens with escarole)
• 1 T red-wine vinegar
• chopped fresh parsley or basil, for garnish
• grated Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish

1.  In a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it up with a spatula, until it is in small, coarse pieces, and starts to brown and sizzle in its own fat, about 8 minutes.
2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked sausage to a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. There should be a thin layer of fat covering the bottom of the skillet. If there is much more than that, pour a bit of the fat off. If there is not enough fat to cover the bottom of the pan, add a drizzle of olive oil.
3. Add the onion to the skillet, season generously with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, add garlic and cook until softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
5. Add the onion and garlic powders, the herbs, red pepper flakes and several generous grinds of black pepper. Stir to combine.
6. Increase heat to medium-high, pour in the wine and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot. Let the wine bubble until the pan is almost dry, about 3 minutes.
7. Scrape the skillet mixture into the slow cooker with the sausage.
8. Add the bay leaf and the lentils.
9. Add the tomatoes with their juice. If using whole, crush the tomatoes into pieces using your hands as you add them with their juice.
10. Pour in the chicken stock.
11. Season generously with pepper and add 1/2 teaspoon salt if you are using low-sodium stock or 1 teaspoon salt if using homemade unsalted stock. Do not add salt now if you are using fully salted stock.
12. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Cover and cook on low until the lentils are tender, about 6 to 8 hours. (Taste the lentils to make sure they are firm but creamy on the inside; black lentils can vary in their cooking time depending on their age and the heat of your slow cooker.) The soup holds well on warm for 2 additional hours.
13. Switch the heat to high. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the greens and cook until wilted and tender, about 2 minutes for baby spinach, 10 minutes for kale.
14. Stir in the vinegar.
15. Serve in bowls, topped with chopped parsley and/or basil and grated Parmesan.

Escarole, Beet, & Tomato Salad with Warm Shallot Vinaigrette

I love finding recipes using escarole that are outside of the “Italian soup” box- especially in the summer. This incredible, layered salad was elevated by the warm shallot vinaigrette and the creamy blue cheese topping. It was slightly- and wonderfully- wilted from the warm beets and dressing.

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living. I roasted the beets instead of steaming them, and modified the proportions. I loved the color variation from the mixed-color tomatoes and combination of golden and red beets. It was a true celebration of my CSA share. 🙂

• 2 bunches beets, bulbs peeled, trimmed, and cubed, greens reserved for another use (I used golden & red beets)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallot (I used 1 large shallot with 2 bulbs)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting shallots
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar
• 1 cup halved cherry or mixed-color tomatoes (5 1/2 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 to 1/2 large head escarole, core and dark outer leaves removed; inner, light-green leaves washed, well dried, and torn into 2-inch pieces (4 packed cups)
• 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh dill
• 4 ounces blue cheese, preferably Danish, thinly sliced or broken into chunks (I used Castello Creamy Blue Danish Cheese)

1. Set oven to 425 degrees, preferably on convection roast.
2. Place cubed beets on a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Place beets in pre-heated oven, and roast for approximately 30 minutes, or until caramelized and tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine shallot, oil, and a pinch of salt in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then whisk in vinegar. Season with pepper and more salt, if desired.
5. When beets are cool enough to handle, toss with tomatoes, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons warm dressing.
6. In a large bowl, combine escarole leaves, beet mixture, and dill. Toss with additional vinaigrette as desired; season with salt and pepper.
7. Top with cheese and serve with remaining vinaigrette alongside.

Italian Potato-Pasta Soup with Greens

My husband is not partial to brothy soups. Making this one required some convincing, but I was able to win him over by the inclusion of pasta and potatoes. By the way, he loved it. 🙂

This wonderful soup recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by David Tanis. I increased the onions, garlic, and kale, and added fresh lemon juice. I also used my homemade turkey stock. We ate it with a green salad, of course, and sliced sourdough baguette. It was surprisingly filling! Absolutely delicious too.

Yield: 8 servings

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for garnish
• 2 cups+ diced onion (I used 1 1/2 large onions)
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced fennel or celery
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large thyme sprig or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 5 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• parmesan rind, optional
• 3 quarts/12 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth or water (I used  2 quarts of homemade turkey stock and 1 quart of chicken stock)
• 2 pounds medium-size starchy potatoes, such as Yukon Golds or russets, peeled (if desired) and cut in 1-inch chunks (I skipped peeling the potatoes)
• 6 to 8 ounces kale or chard, stems removed, leaves sliced across into 1/2-inch ribbons (about 6-7 cups total)
• ½ pound dried pennette, orecchiette or other small pasta
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or marjoram, for garnish
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

1. In a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion, carrot and fennel, stir, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened and golden, 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the heat to prevent vegetables from browning or scorching.
2. Stir in bay leaf, thyme sprig, garlic, paprika tomato paste, and parmesan rind (if using), and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, potatoes and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a brisk simmer. Cook until potatoes are cooked through but still firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
3. Stir in kale and pasta and simmer another 10 minutes, or until greens are well cooked and pasta is done. (Soup can be made up to this point, without the pasta, cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
4. Add the fresh lemon juice and stir to incorporate.
5. Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle with chopped rosemary and Parmesan. Drizzle each serving with a teaspoon of olive oil, if desired. Pass extra Parmesan at the table.

Note: If making ahead of time, do not add the pasta until reheating.

One Year Ago:

• Roman Egg Drop Soup (Stracciatella alla Romana)

Two Years Ago:

• Light Italian Wedding Soup
• Caramelized Leek & Potato Soup

Three Years Ago:

• Classic Tomato Soup

Four Years Ago:

• Maushawa: Afghani Bean & Meatball Soup

Five Years Ago:

• Smoky Butternut Squash Soup
• Baked Potato & Leek Soup with Cheddar & Bacon
• Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Fried Eggs with Greens & Mushrooms

This is another greens-loaded, fast and delicious weeknight meal. It would also be wonderful served at a brunch. The sage-chile butter really added something special to the finished dish. Hearty and vegetarian. Great!

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living. I increased the amount of garlic and greens. I also used a combination of escarole, sugarloaf chicory, turnip and kohlrabi greens from my CSA share; any combination of greens would work well. We ate it with a sourdough baguette. I read a suggestion to eat it with grits which would be another tasty option.

Yield: Serves 2 to 4

For the Sage-Chile Butter:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon small sage leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

For the Eggs and Greens:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 10 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 8-12 cups cooking greens (cut into 3/4-inch-wide ribbons), such as collard, mustard, or kale (or any combination)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• finely grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
• sourdough baguette, for serving, if desired

1. Make the sage-chile butter: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sage and red-pepper flakes. Simmer until sage is crisp, about 3 minutes.
2. Make the eggs and greens: Heat a large, heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat. Swirl in oil. Cook mushrooms with 1/2 teaspoon salt until golden and tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in garlic, then greens and water.
4. Cook, stirring, until greens wilt. Add unsalted butter, and stir until melted.
5. Push greens to make 4 wells. Crack 1 egg into each. Season with salt (and pepper, if desired). Cook for 4 minutes. Let stand until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 4 minutes.
6. Drizzle with sage-chile butter. Garnish with grated cheese accompanied by baguette slices, as desired.

One Year Ago:

• Simple Caesar Salad

Two Years Ago:

• Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder

Three Years Ago:

• Makhani Dal (Butter Dal), Mogul-Style
• Mother’s Day Huevos Rancheros