Le Creuset Challege: Chicken Sausage and Kale Stew

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When I was given the opportunity to participate in P. Allen Smith's Garden2Blog 2013, my taste buds started to tingle. The wonderful recipes of Allen's that we get to sample while down in Little Rock are downright delectable, but this year we were asked to contribute recipes of our own as a part of the Le Creuset Challenge. We were each provided a Le Creuset French Oven and tasked with using it to create one of our favorite recipes.

I chose a Chicken Sausage and Kale Stew that I first made (based closely on a Real Simple recipe) for our friends on New Year's Day.




This stew is a simple one to create, even easier in a fine piece of cookware like the Le Creuset French Oven.  Last year, I'll admit to not understanding the pleasure of cooking in high-end enameled cast iron. This year, I was well aware of how evenly food cooks in a Le Creuset.

I started with the following ingredients:

• 24 oz. sun-dried tomato and mozzarella chicken sausage
• 30 oz. cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 24 oz. diced tomatoes
• 1 qt. chicken stock
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large bunch kale
• salt and pepper

First, cut the sausage into bite size chunks.

Next, slice the garlic cloves.

Sauté the garlic and sausage in the olive oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add the tomatoes (including liquid) and beans.

Pull the kale into small sections, discarding the the midrib of each leaf. Wash thoroughly.

Add the chicken stock and the kale to the french oven, slowly working it into the stew.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes over low to medium heat.

The kale will slowly cook down and incorporate into the stew. The longer you cook the stew, the more the flavors will mingle.

Ladle the stew into serving bowls, and garnish with fresh kale. I chose to serve it with a freshly baked whole grain artisan bread.

If you like beer, an ale like Hopslam is a good companion to the strong taste of the sausage in the stew.

The prep and cooking time can be as short as 30 minutes, or as long as three hours, depending on how mingled you'd like the flavors to be.

Many thanks to P. Allen Smith and the folks at Le Creuset for providing the french oven as a part of Garden2Blog 2013! It's a piece of cookware that will be in my cooking repertoire for countless years to come.

The majority of the cost of this trip including lodging and travel were provided to me at no expense for participating in the Garden2Blog event. There was no obligation to write about my experiences and all opinions stated here are my own.

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