Tomato Sauce with Sausage and Kale

This is a home-y sauce which cooks quickly. Very easy, healthy and delicious for a weeknight dinner. The olive oil added as a garnish at the end gives it a sweet and fresh taste.

3 tbsp quality extra-virgin olive oil

1 sweet Italian sausage

1 spicy Italian sausage

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes (I like Muir Glen, and I don't really like anything else...)

1 small pinch dried thyme

1 small bunch of lacinato kale, cut into chiffonade

salt and pepper to taste

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 lb pasta of your choice (fusilli or a similar shape would be good here but you can also use ravioli)

Start your pasta water to boil with plenty of salt. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed, lidded sauté pan over medium-high heat (without the lid for now). Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan and swirl the pan to coat. When the oil has heated, squeeze the sausages from their casings into the pan. Sauté for four or five minutes while breaking up the sausages with a wooden spoon. Monitor the heat carefully so that the sausage doesn't form too much of a fond on the bottom of the pan. When the sausage is just beginning to brown in places, add the onions and cook, stirring, for about 5 more minutes. When the onion is wilted, add the garlic and cook for just about 30 seconds, until the pungent garlic smell mellows just slightly. Pour in the liquid from the whole peeled tomatoes, then squeeze each whole tomato in your hand to crush it before you drop it into the pan. (This squirt-prone operation can be mitigated somewhat by poking a hole with your thumb and one finger to de-pressurize the tomato before you really put the squeeze down. I rarely escape this operation without an errant squirt, so an apron would be a strong recommendation here. This might seem like a complicated process -- why not just use diced or puréed tomatoes? Well, somehow they just don't have the same delicate, slightly brothy-y texture and flavor.)

Now add the thyme and the kale and stir the sauce to combine the ingredients. Salt carefully to taste. Cover the sauce and simmer for about 7 minutes, until the kale is wilted and the sauce is bubbling. As soon as you cover your sauce, check the time you need to cook your pasta, and time it to be done just about the same time as the sauce.

Drain the pasta when it's cooked to your liking, and spoon it into 4 wide shallow bowls. Divide the sauce on top of the pasta between the 4 bowls. Drizzle 1/2 tbsp of olive oil over each bowl, and grate the Parmigiano on top.

Serves 4.

Brunching Out: A Great Green for Moms

(originally published on lime.com)

Brunching with Mom this weekend?

Adding kale to the menu is an unusual, easy, and delicious way to show her you care. It comes in several tasty varieties and has a wide range of beneficial nutrients that are associated with decreased risk of cancer, cataracts, heart disease, arthritis, and emphysema, including anti-oxidants, calcium, and fiber. Not only is it truly a health super-food, but Sautéed Lemon Kale is a great reason to blow off the Eggs Benedict when served with poached eggs and whole-grain toast. It can be tempting to toss aside good nutrition on special occasions, but this is one exceptionally healthy treat that I have come to crave.

Kale comes in several varieties, and any of them will work well in this preparation, although I particularly like the texture of the curly variety. Look for firm, crisp leaves with no signs of wilting or yellowing.

Poached Eggs with Sautéed Lemon Kale and Whole Grain Toast

1 large bunch kale, washed and dried

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

4 eggs

1 tbsp white vinegar

4 slices of whole grain bread

Slice the kale horizontally across the bunch into ribbons about ½ inch wide. Discard the tough stems. Cut the garlic into slivers.

Heat olive oil in a large lidded sauté pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers but doesn’t smoke. Add kale. You may need to add it in batches, as the kale will reduce in size as it cooks, and while it may initially look as though there is too much for the pan, if you wait 10-15 seconds you should be able to squeeze it all in. Cover and cook until the kale is sufficiently reduced in size that you can stir it. Remove the lid and sauté as the kale continues to cook down. It’s fine, and in fact, quite tasty, if some of the leaves brown and crisp in places. When you have enough room in the pan, move the kale to the side enough that you can add the garlic in direct contact with the pan. Sauté for several seconds, then stir to combine garlic and kale. Cook to desired done-ness, at least until the stem portions of the leaves become tender and lose their raw taste. Remove from the heat and add the juice of the lemon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toast bread and keep warm.

While you are cooking the kale, bring a medium saucepan containing a depth of about three inches of water to a boil, then reduce the heat to barely a simmer. Add the vinegar to the water. When the kale is done, poach the eggs as follows: gently crack each egg into a saucer or small cup. Lower into the simmering water and slide in the eggs. Immediately turn off the heat and cover. Cook for just under 3 minutes.

On each one of 4 plates, top one slice of toast with one quarter of the Sautéed Lemon Kale and one poached egg. Serve immediately, and pass sea salt and the pepper mill.

Serves 4.