Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Skillet – A Basic Cooking Lesson

Heather says:

Eating locally and seasonally is a popular trend, with good reason. Choosing foods grown locally and in season reduces the amount of energy that is needed to bring the food from the farm to your table. In colder climates it isn’t always convenient or practical as late winter can mean nothing is in season. Winter menu options generally consist of a lot of root vegetables that store well. Here in the South, cruciferous vegetables are the late winter hotness and I won’t lie, I get a little excited when cabbage drops to $0.39 a pound.

All of the seasoning needed for this recipe is provided by the sausage and the aromatic vegetables. You can add a little salt and pepper if you like, but taste it first.

As written, this meal takes two skillets unless you have an 18″ or 20″ skillet. Just put half in each pan. With the technique used in this recipe, the shape of the pan doesn’t matter much and you can use a large dutch oven or pot if that’s what you have on hand.

If you are cooking for one or two people, halve the amounts (use two carrots) and cook it in a single pan. You don’t have to halve the sausage, but if you’re trying to keep to follow the Michael Pollan adage, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” you’ll want to.

Click on the picture to see it larger.

Tip: Smoked sausage will keep in the fridge for a few days and makes a great addition to eggs in the morning. (If you have any leftovers this dish makes a great base for a scramble, just heat it in your skillet, beat a couple of eggs and stir them in.)

Sausage and Cabbage Recipe

There is a printable recipe below this one.

Ingredients

• 1 lb smoked sausage
• 1 sweet onion, sliced
• 3 carrots, grated
• 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small heads of cabbage, roughly chopped
• 3 – 4 large handfuls of kale

Instructions

1. Place the skillet or large Dutch oven over medium low heat (3 – 4) on an electric stove.
2. Slice the sausage into coins and add to the pan.
3. While the sausage cooks prepare all of the other vegetables, stirring occasionally, when the sausage reaches your desired level of doneness (I prefer the sausage fairly brown.)
4. Add the onions and stir occasionally until they begin to soften. If you aren’t a huge garlic fan, add it now or hold off a bit if you are.
5. Add the carrots, stir occasionally until they start to soften.
6. Add the garlic, now if you didn’t earlier.
7. Add the cabbage, stir, and cover and cook until tender.
8. Add the kale, stir, and cook until it turns bright green. You want the kale to retain its texture to contrast with the softer, cooked cabbage.