I’m trying to add more vegetables to my diet and less fat. As I get older, all the indulgences (and over indulgences) are catching up. So I’m trying to get back on track. This recipe uses that wonder food, kale, and some low-fat, high flavor, chicken Italian sausage. And it came out really good!
How to Do it:
Start by cooking the kale. Place the raw, cleaned kale in a large kettle. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer until it’s tender. Drain and cool. You’ll need about 2 bunches of kale.
And now the casserole…
Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are starting to soften. Add the garlic and the sausage, letting the sausage pieces brown on each side.
Next, add 1 Tablespoon of the butter to the pan and let it melt. Continue cooking until the butter begins to brown very slightly. Remove from the heat.
To prepare the kale, place the cooked kale, egg, 1/2 cup of the ricotta, the salt, pepper, Italian herbs and pepper flakes in a large bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup of bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese. Mix until well blended.
Place the kale mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top it with the sausage mixture.
Place the remaining ricotta on the top of the sausages.
Next, sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs and parmesan topped with the pine nuts.
Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, or until the top gets golden brown.
Serve hot!
A variation – add some polenta to the bottom of the casserole before baking!
© Copyright 2018 The Lazy Gastronome
- 1/2 cup onions, chopped
- 4 links chicken Italian sausage (I like Open Nature)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 Tablespoons butter
- 3 cups cooked kale
- 1 whole egg
- 3/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs or panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons pine nuts
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Start by cooking the kale. Place the raw, cleaned kale in a large kettle. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer until it's tender. Drain and cool. You'll need about 2 bunches of kale.
-
Next, heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are starting to soften. Add the garlic and the sausage, letting the sausage pieces brown on each side.
-
Add 1 Tablespoon of the butter to the pan and let it melt. Continue cooking until the butter begins to brown very slightly. Remove from the heat.
-
To prepare the kale, place the cooked kale, egg, 1/2 cup of the ricotta, the salt, pepper, Italian herbs and pepper flakes in a large bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup of bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese. Mix until well blended.
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Place the kale mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top it with the sausage mixture.
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Place the remaining ricotta on the top of the sausages.
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Next, sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs and parmesan topped with the pine nuts.
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Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, or until the top gets golden brown.
Below are some of the items we used to create this recipe!
Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links through Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!
It sounds just perfect. I’ve never tried chicken sausages, but I’ve been trying to switch the family to white meats lately, so these go on my list of things to look for at the next grocery shopping trip.
Thank you for sharing the recipe at The Really Crafty link Party. Pinned.
There are several brands, but I like the Open Nature brand. They don’t have a lot of fillers and are reasonably priced.
This looks wonderful! I’m just not that fond of kale in general, but I can find baby kale, which I prefer, or just substitute spinach.
Spinach would work but I’d use more. It cooks down a lot more than kale. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for bringing this zesty one pan recipe to Fiesta Friday. That’s my favorite type of recipe. I have made something similar. It is a perfect recipe for this time of year.
Thanks Catherine. It was pretty good!!
I can get my son to eat Kale with this recipe.
It was really good. Didn’t last long at our house! Thanks for stopping by.