Sausages and Greens: The Weeknight Dinner That Changed My Standards

Movement Notes

There was a time in my life when I thought sausages were just something you threw on a grill during summer and felt vaguely disappointed by. They were fine. They were there. They were the culinary equivalent of a shrug. Then I made crispy sausages with a mountain of greens, and suddenly every sausage I'd ever eaten before felt like a warm-up act for the main event.

This recipe starts with vegetables — specifically, an unreasonable amount of them. You strip Tuscan kale from its stems, chop up half a head of cabbage, slice garlic like you're preparing for a vampire convention, and throw in onions and shiitake mushrooms if you're feeling ambitious, which you should be because they add an earthy depth that makes the whole dish sing. Everything goes into a baking dish, gets drizzled with olive oil and chicken broth, and bakes under foil until the greens are tender and have given up their stubborn crunch.

While the vegetables are softening in the oven, you tackle the sausages. Here's where things get important: you prick them with a fork first, which sounds violent but is actually a kindness, preventing them from exploding like delicious meat balloons in your skillet. You cook them in olive oil over medium-high heat until they're golden brown on all sides and cooked through, which takes about ten to twelve minutes of turning and admiring.

When the vegetables are done, you slice the sausages and toss everything together with a splash of vinegar — sherry or red wine, depending on what's in your pantry and your emotional state. The vinegar is crucial. It cuts through the richness of the sausage and the earthiness of the greens and brings the whole dish into sharp, bright focus.

What you end up with is a plate of food that's simultaneously comforting and invigorating. The sausages are crispy on the outside, juicy within. The greens are savory and tender with those caramelized edges. The vinegar ties it all together like a really good scarf. This is not a shrug of a dinner. This is a standing ovation, and I'm not going back to sad grilled sausages ever again.

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Source Reference

Original score log: https://www.bonappetit.com/columns/cooking-without-recipes/article/kale-cabbage-sausage-weeknight-dinner