Kale & Pecans

My original thought for this speedy dish used andouille sausage rather than chicken, though I didn’t have any homemade andouille and it’s not the easiest thing to find in Winnipeg on short notice. Maybe I was thinking about our next visit to New Orleans on some subconscious level or maybe it was simply a craving for spice and pecans. Regardless, this did the trick. If the sausage you are using is extremely lean, you may want to add a splash of olive oil with the kale when cooking.

As for the word “pecan”, it was made very clear to me during a fun session at The New Orleans School of Cooking, that a pee can is something people may have kept next to their beds many years ago. The tasty morsels used in southern cooking are pronounced “puh-con”. Now that you’re in the know, be very careful how you pronounce the word when ordering down south as you may just get what you ask for!

Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 pound spicy chicken sausage – sliced

¼ cup pecan pieces

8 cups kale – roughly chopped with stalks discarded

2 cloves garlic – very finely chopped or crushed

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Preparation:

Place a heavy pan on medium-high heat and add the sausage once the pan is hot. Cook, stirring occasionally for five minutes.

While the sausage is cooking, place a separate small pan on medium heat and toast the pecan pieces, stirring often until they begin to darken. Remove from heat immediately.

Add the kale and garlic to the chicken, stirring often for four minutes. Season with the salt and pepper, then remove from heat.

Plate the kale and sausage immediately and top with the toasted pecans.

Get the PDF and nutrition info