A Spanish-Italian mash-up of sorts, this tasty meal can be adaptable to your specific tastes. We thought it was bit shy on the meat, and therefore if you want a more meat-centric meal, you could probably double, or at least increase by half, the amount of sausage*. We also sliced the sausage into more manageable bites.
To make it a bit more Spanish, use chorizo and spicy pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika). The beans and kale provide plenty of healthy fiber.
**Additional option: drain 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, reserving the liquid. Add tomatoes when adding red wine and seasonings to onions. Use reserved juices as part of the 1 1/2 cups water to kale mixture.
Skillet-Braised Spicy Sausage with Cannellini Beans and Kale
1 lb. lacinato kale, stemmed and torn into 2-inch pieces
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, undrained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. sherry vineager
Directions
Bring sausage links and 1/4 cup water to simmer in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cover and cook until sausages register at least 135°F, 8 to 10 minutes. (If pot contents begin to sizzle, add 1/4 cup water.)
Uncover, and using pairing knife, pierce each link in 8 to 10 spots to release fat and juices. Continue to cook, uncovered, moving sausages as necessary until dark fond forms on bottom of pot, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer sausages to cutting board.
Add onion and garlic slices to now-empty pot, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in wine scraping up any browned bits. Stir in tomato paste, paprika and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until wine is reduced to thick , syrupy glaze, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir in kale and remaining 1 1/2 cups water, cover and cook until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans and their liquid, cover and cook for 5 minutes longer. Return sausages to pot nestling links into kale and beans.
Cover and continue to cook until sausages register 160°F, 8 to 10 minutes, flipping sausages ad tiring halfway through cooking. Transfer sausages to cutting board and cut each link into about 1/2-inch slices on a diagonal.
Off heat, stir in oil and vinegar into kale mixture and season to taste with salt. Divide kale, beans and sauce into shallow bowls. Top with sausage and serve.
