I know this is coming to you a day late, but oh the joys of modern technology! *LOL*
Anyway, as I have mentioned, I was on a food adventure this past weekend in Columbus, OH. My road trip buddy and I came across this FANTASIC market on Spruce Street, known as North Market.
It was packed full of wonderful, locally owned, and operated, organic certified, restaurants, merchants, and artisan food craftsmen. It was truly a sight to behold. I spent two days there, and barely scratched the surface. I have never been so inspired by ingredients in all my life and I have enjoyed cooking with them and sharing my recipes with you this week!
Today's main ingredient came from a great vegetable stand, centrally located as you walk through the doors called The Green Grocer.
As you approach this stand, you are overwhelmed by the agricultural
rainbow of freshness! You can actually SEE the difference organic makes!
I mean, look at these tomatoes.
They had a large selections of all sorts of vegetables, local honeys,
herbs, and mushrooms.
So much to choose from, but keeping in the spirit of the trip, I chose an ingredient that I have read a lot about, but have never seen in my local grocery store. Broccolini.
Instantly I knew what I was going to make so I paid for my purchase...
grabbed a quick lunch....
and met up with my sister, and my ADORABLE nephew Rylan!
Look at those baby blues!
After lunch I headed over to Hubert's Polish Kitchen for some of their fresh Polish Sausage, and to Sarefino's Pastaria for some great, fresh linguini. Then it was home to my kitchen to whip up a delectable spring time dish and I can't wait to share with you!
Sautéed Broccolini with Polish Sausage, and fresh Linguini:
*Prep Time: 10 minutes *Cook Time: 10 Minutes *Difficulty: Easy *Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. of brocolini (or broccoli)
- 1 lb. linguini pasta
- 1 link of Polish sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2-3 tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Ice
So I know what you may be thinking. "What on Earth is broccolini?"
Well, let me put it like this...If broccoli and asparagus had a child
it would be broccolini.
Delicate like asparagus, but tastes just like broccoli.
So since I had never worked with this before,
I decided to treat it as I would if I were going to
sauté asparagus or broccoli. I will blanch it first, to tender it up a little.
You start by bringing a pot of water to a boil, and add salt.
Once boiling, add your broccolini.
You are going to let is cook 2-3 minutes.
While that's happening, go ahead and start browning the polish sausage in your skillet.
After 2-3 minutes has passed you will remove the
broccolini from the pot (DO NOT EMPTY THE WATER) and add to the bowl of ice water.
This is called shocking and it stops the cooking while setting that
beautiful green color!
Brown sausage on both sides and remove from pan.
Looking at the broccolini, I decided that it was a little large to handle eating,
so I decided to cut it into more manageable pieces.
To my hot skillet, I added the oil and onion.
Let that cook until soft and translucent.
Now add your garlic.
Can we just take a moment to look at this beautiful, fresh pasta.
*sigh* I love pasta.
Now you will add your pasta to your pot of boiling water.
Yes, the same pot you blanched the broccolini in.
Cook according to the directions on the package.
Since this was fresh, it only took about 4 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, add the broccolini to the pan with a little salt ...
and pepper.
I decided I would like a little heat in this dish, so I added a some cayenne.
Of course, you do not have to add this.
It will be delicious either way!
Return the sausage to the pan.
When your pasta is finished, add the pasta to the pan.
Add the grated parmesan.
I like to use fresh here.
Toss and top with a little shaved parmesan.
Doesn't that look beautiful!
This was so delicious!
You could really taste the freshness of these great ingredients
shining through.
However, this dish can easily, and inexpensively I might add, me made using basic broccoli and ingredients from your local grocer! This is a perfect example of going into your favorite store and just being inspired by what they have on hand, and coming come to create a simple, yet flavorful, dish for your family!
So get inspired tonight and COOK!
As always...
Happy Reading, Happy Eating, and Happy Living,
~The Kitchen Wife~
Such a great dish. I love combining polish sausages with vegetables, so how long will this dish last in refrigerator?
ReplyDeleteHey Lita! Thanks for stopping by! To be honest, we didn't have a lot left of it. I remember eating it for lunch the next day and it was fine, but I can't say if it would last a week or not.
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