I felt the need to post this fabulous little recipe for fresh linguine with sausage and cabbage. I made this for dinner last night, it's extremely simple to make, and pretty good! I made a few modifications, which I have noted. The recipe supplies half of your daily folate needs. Also, the cabbage used in this recipe is savoy cabbage (which I had been trying to cook with for a while). It is light green and has crinkly leaves, perfect for the weather - and adds great color to the dish. It also has a milder flavor than your regular green or red cabbage (I also don't like to eat either of these). I converted the original recipe instructions into steps to make things a little "easier." Bien Provecho and Bon Appétit!
Serves: 4; Total time: 18 minutes
Ingredients:
2 chicken sausages (about 5 ounces total) - or 4 Morningstar Italian Sausages
1 small red onion
14-ounce wedge savoy cabbage
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth - or make 1 cup of broth using Natural Vegan “Chicken” Bouillon Cubes by Edward & Sons (I used a full cube for one cup)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 12-ounce package fresh linguine
Directions:
1) Bring a large covered pot of water to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low and simmer covered until ready to cook pasta.
2) While water is being heated, cut sausages into 1/4-inch thick diagonal pieces, slice onion to make 1/2 cup, and shred cabbage to make 3 cups. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and cornstarch. A quick NOTE - mix thoroughly, there should be no "chunks" of powder. You should re-mix before adding to the pan.
3) Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add sausage, reduce heat to medium, and cook 1 minute. Turn sausage and cook another minute.
4) Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, onion and cabbage and sauté 1 minute.
5) Add broth and 1/4 cup cold water; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in cornstarch mixture and pepper. Cook, stirring, until liquid is a little glossy, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
6) Return pasta water to a boil over high heat. Add linguine and cook uncovered according to package directions, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander. Add drained pasta to sausage and sauce in skillet and toss gently to combine. Divide among four plates and serve immediately.
MY MODIFICATIONS
I suggest using a medium to large skillet for preparing the sausage and cabbage - you will need the space when you mix in the linguini in the final step.
Substitute 2 tablespoons red wine for the 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Substitute garlic infused olive oil instead of regular olive oil
In STEP 2, instead of cutting the sausage, remove the meat from the casing. You can do this by gently squeezing this out of one end with your fingers. I should note that I used 2 fresh chicken cilantro sausage from Whole Foods. When you cook the sausage, you would need to break the ground meat in the same way you would for tacos - the same can be done with the Morningstar Sausages. Do not worry about any trace amounts sticking to the pan - it will deglaze when you add the savoy cabbage (from the moisture). NOTE - you may need to adjust cook time, should be slight pink in some spots when you add the red onions.
In STEP 4, after adding a smidge of oil - add the red onions first. Sautee them for ~ 30 seconds, then add the savoy cabbage. After adding the cabbage, add about 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon salt (this will help wilt the leaves and add flavor).
In STEP 5, DO NOT ADD the 1/4 cup cold water. I found there was enough flavor and liquid (from the chicken broth) without it.
Nutrition Facts:
(2 cups): 348 calories, 7 g fat (17% of calories), 1 g saturated fat, 53 g carbs, 18 g protein, 2 g fiber, 35 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 363 mg sodium
Cooking Tips...
I thought I would throw in a few kitchen tips:
How to cut a cabbage:
A cabbage’s outer leaves are often thin and damaged. First pull off and discard 2 or 3 layers to reveal thicker smoother leaves. Rinse the cabbage well and pat it dry.
Remove and discard the tough white cores by holding each quarter upright and slicing downward behind them at an angle.
Now you can slice the cabbage as the recipe or whim demands. Slice it into very thin long strips for slaws and salads, into thicker strips for stir-frys, braises and sautés, and into larger pieces for a longer cooking. For the recipe above - you will want relatively thin strips (~1.5 cm).
How to Dice an Onion
There are many ways to cut, chop, or dice an onion. Here is one way taught to me by a professional chef that I recommend to you.
With a long knife, cut the head in half through the core. Cut each half in half again through the core.
Using a chef's knife, cut the stem end almost off but leave a little to grab so you can start peeling. Peel all the outside skin off.
Place the onion on the cut end with the root end facing up. If there are any excess roots sticking out, pinch them off with your fingers. Now slice the onion in half long ways. By leaving the root attached, it will help keep the onion together while slicing.
Take each half of the onion and lay it down flat on your cutting board. Make multiple cuts long ways from top to bottom but not through the root at the end. Depending on the fineness you want your dice will determine how many cuts you will make. The more cuts, the finer the dice. Turn the onion 90 degrees and make multiple cuts across the onion being sure to keep your fingers curled under so you don't cut them. How many slices will again depend on how fine a dice you are looking for.
What is Deglazing?
Deglazing is using a small amount of liquid (usually enough to cover the bottom of the pan by no more than 1/4-inch) to loosen the bits of caramelized food at the bottom of a pan after it has been cooked or partially cooked. The liquid is added to the pan directly after the item being sautéed is removed from the pan. If the liquid being added is high alcohol, the pan should be removed from the heat before the liquid is poured in. A spatula or wooden spoon is used to scrape up the little attached bits. The heat should be on high, to reduce the amount of liquid and further intensify the flavors.
The caramelized food particles, called fond, are highly flavorful, since they are concentrated juices from the cooked item. As they absorb the liquid, usually, stock, wine, broth, or water, they mix with the flavors in the liquid, making a perfect compliment for the cooked item, since they have the same source.
The liquid used to deglaze should either augment the flavor or contrast it. Usually with a mildly flavored food, like chicken or fish, the deglazing liquid is a similarly flavored stock or broth. If the food has stronger flavors or is high in fat, such as duck or sausage, the liquid added will be tart or acidic, like wine or citrus juice, which will cut the fatty flavors. Either flavor will be the base of the sauce used for the dish. Any juices that pool in the bottom of the dish the food should be added back to the pan and reduced with the deglazing liquid for additional flavor.
After the fond has been scraped up, additional seasonings, such as salt and pepper or a handful of chopped herbs or spices can be added. The sauce, once reduced by at least half, can then be finished with bits of cubed cold butter, stirred in after the pan has been removed from the heat. The butter will thicken and enrich the sauce.
On a more practical level, deglazing allows the pan to be scraped, which helps cleaning it later.
