Kitchen Epiphanies

KITCHEN epiphanies

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Sausage and White Bean Stew

The holidays and the joyous part of winter have ended.  The decorations were taken down and carefully put away. The dried tree and wreath discarded.  The cookie cutters and assorted baking pans which were in constant use through November and December have been stored for another ten months.

The dreary part of winter has started, and I dread the next three months of cold, snow and ice whether I am in Chicago or Kyiv, Ukraine.  I long for spring, but it’s too early to dwell on its coming and too frustrating to think about it.  There is still much blistery, bone-chilling coldness to survive before any glimmer of relief.

Weldon and I arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine several weeks ago. We left a cold but unusually snowless Chicago for Ukraine covered by a foot of snow and much colder temperatures.  I am here to work and Weldon keeps me company, reads, and writes.

Being in exile for a month without many of my favorite foods, and having to cook with locally available ingredients, allows me to revise our diets, abandon the holiday indulgences and to slowly get a grip on our calorie intake. January usually brings a hankering for lighter fare without the rich embellishments that make traditional holiday meals so delicious and addictive. But it is too cold to embark on salads or grilled meats with steamed vegetables.  I still need the warmth and comfort that is only possible with flavorful soups and stews, but without the rib-sticking heaviness.

Grocery shopping at a Kyiv supermarket last Saturday, I spotted a display of freshly made pork sausage, which was impossible to pass up.  The double-spiraled sausage looked lean and meaty, ideal for a winter stew. This was a good opportunity to adapt a Bon Appetit “Chorizo and White Bean Stew” recipe to Ukrainian ingredients.

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So the Ukrainian “bazaar” pork sausage with plenty of garlic became the main ingredient in lieu of chorizo. I added bay leaves for their complex savory flavor of mint, thyme, oregano coriander and clove and three cans of great northern beans as white kidney beans or cannellini are unavailable here. I substituted frozen chopped spinach, since fresh baby spinach is out of season and added fresh dill for a spark of freshness.

I am pleased with the result.  This stew packs a rich and creamy flavor and yet is relatively light tasting since only some mashed beans, but no roux, were used as thickener.   The stew is not fatty since the fat in the sausage is rendered by frying before it is combined with the other ingredients.

This recipe can be easily adapted to another type of sausage and with some minor adjustments to herbs and spices that readily produce a different flavor profile.  When I return to Chicago, I plan to try other sausages to create other versions.

For an Italian version, I would use Italian sausage (sweet or hot) and substitute extra virgin olive oil for sunflower oil, oregano for thyme; eliminate the bay leaves, substitute baby spinach for frozen spinach, parsley for the dill and top the stew off with shavings of parmesan.

Even though the original recipe started with chorizo, other flavorings seem quite bland.  Thus, for a Mexican version, I would use chorizo and substitute the thyme with Mexican oregano, reduce the bay leaves to one, substitute cayenne pepper for black pepper, substitute baby spinach for frozen spinach and garnish with fresh cilantro instead of dill or parsley.  If the chorizo is not spicy, then a teaspoon of Mexican salsa would add more heat.

Sausage and White Bean Stew

2 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil
1 pound fresh, not smoked, sausage (either bratwurst, andouille or Italian sausage links)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 sprig thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
3 15-ounce cans great northern (or cannellini beans) drained and rinsed
3 cups chicken broth, purchased or homemade
1 10 oz package frozen spinach, chopped (or 5 ounces, about 10 cups, baby spinach leaves)
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh dill or Italian parsley, chopped

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pierce sausage with a toothpick on both sides to prevent bursting. Add sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and cut into slices or chunks.

Reduce heat to medium. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add onion, garlic, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5-8 minutes.

Transfer onion mixture to large pot.  Add 2 ½ cans of beans, bay leaves and broth and cook.  Crush the remaining ½ can of beans and add to thicken stew.  More beans can be crushed if a thicker stew is desired.  Cook for 10 minutes, stirring periodically. Add spinach and sausage.  Cook just until stew is reheated, about 4 minutes.

Taste and adjust salt* and pepper.  Ladle into warm bowls.  Garnish with herbs and serve with sourdough bread.

SERVINGS: 6

*Since sausages vary greatly in salinity, salt from the sausage will gradually seep into the finished stew and additional salt should be added just before serving.

Sausage white bean stew by Slava Johnson @Flickr

Photo credits:  Slava Johnson

One year ago  :http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/spaetzle-the-ubiquitous-noodle/

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