Monday, May 19, 2014

Red Russian Kale and Turkey Sausage Pasta

Red Russian Kale and Turkey Sausage Pasta

Red Russian kale and turkey sausage flavor a tomato cream sauce in this kid-friendly pasta

Red Russian kale and turkey sausage flavor a tomato cream sauce in this kid-friendly pasta.


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I work in a thrift shop, and one of the perks is being able to purchase some of the merchandise before it gets out to the sales floor.  [Another perk is shopping the clearance section before opening hours to find colorful napkins and placemats, interesting kitchen gadgets, and more that you see in my photos.]


I picked up a copy of Giada de Laurentis' Everyday Pasta this way, primarily because when I flipped to the index, looked up kale, and checked out this recipe her headnotes mentioned that it was the only way she'd eat kale as a kid.  Since I have plenty of varieties of kale in our community supported agriculture (CSA) farm share and kids who don't readily eat kale (though they'll eat it in soup and pizza) I figured I'd give this recipe a try.


Red Russian kale and turkey sausage flavor a tomato cream sauce in this kid-friendly pasta.


The original recipe calls for spicy sausage.  My son is the child into spicy foods, so I used some turkey breakfast sausage instead.  My daughter has been the one to snag all of the leftovers of this dish, so I think that the pinch of crushed red pepper was just fine by her.  I used Red Russian kale in this, but it would work with blue curly kale or Lacinato kale as well.

For more recipes using kale, please see my Kale Recipes Collection or my Cooking Greens Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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Red Russian kale and turkey sausage flavor a tomato cream sauce in this kid-friendly pasta.

Red Russian Kale and Turkey Sausage Rotini, adapted from Everyday Pasta (Amazon affiliate link)


Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound turkey breakfast sausage links
  • ¾ cup spring onions, chopped white and tender green parts only
  • 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic or 2-3 cloves fresh or roasted
  • 1 quart crushed tomatoes, or a 28 ounce can of peeled tomatoes
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 cups chopped Red Russian kale (stems to the compost)
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream
  • 1 pound rotini pasta
  • grated cheese for serving

Instructions

  1. Fill a pretty purple pot (another Amazon affiliate link? are you kidding me?) with water and set it over high heat to come to a boil.  
  2. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, add oil, and cook sausage links until browned on all sides. Remove from skillet and slice into sausage coins, then set aside.  
  3. Add onion to the skillet and cook for 5-8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, tomatoes, seasonings and sausage coins, stir to combine.
  4. Once the water is boiling, add the kale and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from boiling water (keep the water going and start the pasta) and add the kale to the skillet.
  5. Stir the kale into the sausage-tomato mixture, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
  6. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to package instructions.
  7. When the sauce has finished simmering, remove from heat and stir in cream.  
  8. Add drained rotini to the skillet and toss to coat with sauce. Serve with grated cheese.


Red Russian kale and turkey sausage flavor a tomato cream sauce in this kid-friendly pasta.

This post is shared on Simple Supper TuesdayWhat's Cookin' WednesdayFiesta Friday, the From the Farm Blog HopClever Chicks Blog HopHot Fun in the Summertime #2,

11 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great way to eat kale! Definitely keeping this one in mind!

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    Replies
    1. Beth,
      Thank you! I'm working on a 'fast from the farm share' concept post for how to get greens out of the farm share box and into our bellies. It's such a challenge for me in the early weeks of the CSA, and recipes like this make it so much easier.

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    2. I can't wait to see this post! We joined a CSA for the first time last fall. We certainly received greens then, but this spring we are overflowing with them. I would love some new ideas.

      Delete
  2. I've never seen red kale before, but to love green kale. Thanks for sharing with us at Simple Supper Tuesday.

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    Replies
    1. Cindy,
      It amazes me to think that 10-15 yrs ago the only kale I knew was the ornamental kale that would appear each Fall and provide something to look at in the planters outside the bank until the summer flowers replaced it. Now--curly kale, Tuscan kale, dinosaur kale, Red Russian kale . . . lots of varieties.
      Thanks for hosting!

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  3. Now that's a pretty fancy pot. I like it; and I like this pasta. For some reason, the idea of cooked greens always kind of weirds me out, although I've done Bok Choy in a soup and on a pizza and been totally fine. Maybe I'm like your kids, but I will eat Kale salads, and I love to add it to smoothies. I think I need to broaden my horizons and try it in a pasta though. I bet the Hubby would approve. I know he'd love the sausage. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      Thank you. I love my pretty purple pot. I'm delighted I could use my Bed Bath and Beyond coupon on it, back in the day. And the color--so not like me, but what the heck. You may as well go Big in your kitchen, right?
      I'm visiting my folks and chowing down on mom's marinated tofu, and I'm thinking that some fennel-seasoned marinated tofu would be terrific in this dish. I don't know if I'll suggest this first as part of my concept recipe post, or try it and then blog about that. Either way, I'll let you know.
      Thanks!

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  4. I have that book too! I haven't tried this recipe yet though. My husband claims a kale allergy, but I could sub in another dark green here. Thanks for posting!

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    Replies
    1. Julie,
      A kale allergy, huh? Clever of him. Good thing my kids don't read my blog so they can't get any ideas. Besides--too late for them! Ha!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  5. I make similar dishes with rotini pasta, and I love to eat them with chopsticks so I can savor every bite. A bit of red pepper flakes always makes things better, and I love that your kids like it hot!

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    Replies
    1. Lydia,
      I love that you eat rotini with chopsticks. I'm going to try that this summer.
      You may start a new trend!
      Thanks!

      Delete