It’s funny, for the most part I’ve felt very positive and excited about the new change in my life – knowing that when God closes one door, He opens others. But today, I just allowed myself to feel a little melancholy about it. And I think that’s OK.
In any case, I’ve had a little more time to cook, clean and hang out with my favorite people. Speaking of hanging out with favorite people, one of my closest friends, Monika enjoys my cooking (and I love hers as well). And every time she visits I make her a dish my Mom used to make. I’d never heard of it or seen it anywhere else, but it’s different, simple and delicious! Especially if you love greens. So here goes:
Italian Sausage and Mustard Greens
2 bunches of fresh mustard greens
about 6 Italian sausage
a few tablespoons of olive oil
about 1/2 c of Pecorino Parmesan cheese (or any parmesan cheese)
1-2 lemons
Chop the mustard greens, rinse thorougly and set aside.
Brown Italian Sausage (the good stuff, like from a specialty shop or Whole Foods) in a large fry pan on medium high. Keep turning the sausage so that they have a nice, brownish color. Don’t worry that they are not cooking all the way through because they will cook some more in the next few steps.
With the pan still hot and the sausage browned, just dump the greens on top of the sausage. They will probably fill up the pan, but just start pushing them down and around. It will start to reduce immediately. If you want to add garlic (for me, there’s never a question) do it after the sausage is browned and before you add the greens. Just toss the garlic in for about 30 seconds before the greens are added.
Now pour about a cup (start with a 1/2 cup) of water into the pan (it should
sizzle as it starts to pick up all the flavors at the bottom of the pan). Cover the pan and reduce the heat.
Cook for about 20 minutes until the sausages are cooked thorougly and the greens have softened and picked up the flavors and juices in the pan. If you want to make sure the greens are cooked only slightly, just cook the sausage longer before you add the greens.
While everything’s still steeping hot, sprinkle lemon and the parmesan cheese over the top.
Serving Suggestion:
I like to serve this in a very shallow soup/pasta dish. I cut the sausage in big chunks so that they are just scattered through the greens. It’s just so rich and delicious that the dish doesn’t really need anything but a nice, fresh baguette.
I hope you love it as much as Monika (and I) love it!!
I can absolutely vouch for how amazingly fantastic this dish is!!!! NINA is one of my oldest and dearest friends, actually, she is more like a big sister to me! She has made this dish for me more times than I can count, & no matter how hard I try, I can never make it as good as she does! I love this dish so much and I am so excited to finally have the recipe to cook step by wonderful step! Thanks NINA!
I was searching the internet for a tasty thing to do with the mustard greens I got from the market. So glad I found this–quite tasty. Grabbed some sausages from the butcher and had a delicious yet healthy, cozy meal. My boyfriend loved it. And, more importantly, I have leftovers for lunch today.
I'm glad I stumbled onto your site. I'll be sure to check it for recipes when I need inspiration.
One design suggestion (feel free to ignore) – your food photography is lovely but it has to compete frequently with the yellow background of the page. Since a lot of food is yellow/orange anyway, the food gets lost in a sea of yellow. Perhaps white instead? Just a thought…
Thanks again for posting your delicious recipes.
Brooklyn NY sends its thanks.
Hi Brooklyn,
I appreciate your input and I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe. It really is one of my favorites. I agre with your suggestion and I'm currently looking into moving to a wordpress platform to hopefully help me improve my design.