Italian Sausage with Kale and White Beans

This dish is a little wintry, but it's nice if you are a greens-lover like I am, and you want to get some as soon as they start to arrive at the market.  Husband and I visited our brand new Whole Foods Market the other day (more on that later), and saw something similar (minus the beans) in one of their many pre-made food cases.  It looked great, and so, when I was at the farmer's market the other day, I bought a large bunch of kale (from a farmer ((Garden Patch Produce)) who mused, "oh - you're one of the 3 kale-eaters who come to the market!), and a pound of Italian sausage from Wagner Pork Farm (cheating on JB, sorry).  I handed these ingredients to Husband and voila! 

This is pretty easy, although it takes a little bit of time.

2 cups fresh white beans, OR 2 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight and drained, or 2 cans white beans, drained, 2 tbsp canning liquid reserved (we used fresh shelly or cranberry beans, from the farmer's market)

Italian Sausage with Kale and White Beans - serves 4

3 sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed and sausage chopped into 1/2" pieces

2 medium onions, medium dice

6 cloves garlic, sliced very thinly

1 large bunch kale, center rib removed and roughly chopped (I don't know how to translate that into weight or cups, except to say that the chopped leaves completely filled our 8 quart stock pot before cooking down)

1 cup beef stock

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp salt, or to taste

a few grinds (or a pinch) freshly cracked pepper

1 T red pepper flakes

Parmesan cheese

Tabasco sauce, optional

If using fresh or dried beans, simmer in a large pot of water 30 minutes, or until soft.  Set aside a little of the cooking liquid and drain the beans.  Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, combine the stock, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and chili flakes and bring to a boil (congratulations, you have just made a gastrique! (see below for definition)). (I have now used double parentheses twice in this post.)

In a large stock pot, brown the sausage.  Remove with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.  Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until translucent.  Add the beans, kale, sausage, and sauce back to the pot.  Cook until the kale has wilted and the sauce has thickened.  Add the reserved bean cooking or canning liquid to help thicken.  Serve in bowls with a little freshly grated Parmesan and sea salt on top.  I like mine with a good dose of Tabasco, as well.  Side note - this is pretty good cold, as well.

definitions:  Kale is a leafy, rather leathery green which is a member of the cabbage family.  A gastrique is a sauce made with vinegar and sugar as its base.  It is typically reduced to a syrup, but here we have left it a little brothy to help wilt the kale, and then reduced it.

See how the kale wilts?