Food • Photography • Life
Happy birthday, ma. Walked around the holiday shop booths at the Union Square green market, loaded up on Thanksgiving ingredients to share with family, bought a tee and hoodie at a local business, and ate some tasty, tasty sushi at a great little spot you’d love. Uni… Yummy…
I’m on a bit of a runny egg kick. Blame it on the weather (we got snow in NYC this last week thanks to my first Nor’easter since moving back up to the frozen North), but I want runny yolks and the silky body they bring to otherwise humble ingredients. The main portion of this dish was initially supposed to be a more runny tomato ragu, but since I inexplicably fail at making any form of marinara, it turned out more substantial – almost like a stew, but not quite as wet. This is a main that needs no starch for backbone – it gets along just fine without. Gluten-free & paleo-friendly.
Caramelized Vegetable & Tomato Ragu with Sausage & Egg
1 head fennel, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Coconut oil
White wine
4 links Italian sausage
1 red pepper, sliced
1 head collards, big vein removed and ribboned
28 oz. can San Marizano peeled tomatoes
1 palmful red pepper flakes
2 eggs per person
Add all your chopped veggies to a enamel dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat with a bit of coconut oil in the bottom. Sautee, stirring often to avoid burning and deglazing the pan with white wine if things are getting too sticky, until the whole mess is nicely browned and cooked way down. The finer you chop the veg, the quicker the cooking will go – I like roughly 1/2 inch pieces or a little under. I’m not 100% sure how long my veggies took to cook, but it was awhile. Maybe half an hour? 45 minutes? You’re looking for a color here, not a time. Everything should look deeply caramelized, and kind of melted together. Not burnt, but nice and brown and cozy.
While all that is happening, get your additions going. Slip your sausage links out of their casings and sautee in a large pan, breaking it up as you go. Remove to a towel to drain. Add the pepper and collards to the sausage fat and sautee until softened, about 10 mins. Taste everything for salt at this point and add if needed.
When your veggies are cooked down to your liking, add the sausage, collards, and pepper to the pot. Open your can of tomatoes and crush each one into the pot. Alternately, you can crush these separately with a potato masher, but where’s the fun int that? Add the liquid from the can along with the red pepper flakes, pop the lid on, lower the heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
To serve, spoon into a bowl and top with two fried eggs.
Serves 2 for dinner + 2 lunches
Mmmmm…. cider.
The only type of Nembu face portrait Nembu wants me to take:
Close to what I want to take (after much cajoling, pleading and a firm ‘don’t go anywhere’ hand):
The new hotness
These boots were made for walking
It looks like fall isn’t gone forever afterall.
This is one of those super comforting good for what ails you meals for chilly nights when all you want to do is curl up with some runny egg yolks and huddle under the blankets. It won’t be winning any beauty pageants, but it is warm, filling, comforting, gluten-free & paleo-friendly.
Good For What Ails You Cabbage, Kale & Apple Hot Toss
1 head Savoy cabbage, cored and sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced
1 bunch Lactino kale, washed and sliced into ribbons
1 Tbsp. carraway seeds
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. white pepper
Salt to taste
2 eggs per person
Bacon
Coconut oil
In your largest skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. coconut oil. Once the oil is melted and the pan is hot, add your cabbage, onion and kale. I happen to like my apples on the disintegratey side, so I added them at this point as well. If you like firmer apples, wait until 5 minutes or so before the end of cooking.
Sautee 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning, until browned and softened. I hit the mixture twice during cooking with the spices and some salt; you might want to add all of it in the beginning. Either method works, just taste as you go.
In a separate pan, crisp your bacon. Set aside and add the eggs to the hot fat. Fry till your heart’s content.
Serves 2 for dinner or 1 for dinner with 2 lunch portions left over.
Ippudo: it’s good for what ails you.
Mall art in White Plains, where they have not only an Apple store, but its bizarro world doppelgänger Microsoft store.
Gastography 