Garlicky Kale, White Beans, & Sausage

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, plus our CSA has been finished for several weeks now -- but I'm still here! Things have been crazy with school and the tiny one, but I'm going to try to get back into posting regularly.

We got a great haul at the farmers' market this week, but I am already beginning to worry about the weeks to come; next week is the final week of the season . . . where am I going to get produce then? Are there any farms around here that are open year round? Should I try to grow some indoor vegetables?

Those worries aside, let me tell you about tonight's dinner! I have to start with a confession. I decided what to make tonight because I've always thought the word 'garlicky' is one of the best words ever, and wanted an excuse to use it. That, and we got a gorgeous bunch of kale from the farmers' market this week!

Kale, white beans, and sausage is one of those meals I think of as very classic Italian, and I was all set to make my Italian friends proud (I'm looking at you, JerzeyGrrl!) by making the Italian sausages from Vegan Brunch and giving this meal the proper Italian treatment. But . . . well, I didn't have any tomato paste. Or fennel. Or oregano. Or, really, any of the appropriate seasonings to make some good Italian food. I know, I know.

So what did I have? My answer to everything: curry paste! Instead of tomato paste, I used curry paste; instead of Italian seasonings, I used Indian seasonings. I always have the goods to make Indian food, and so I turned this Italian classic into something new.

I used cannellini beans as the base for the sausages, since I was going to be using them for the rest of the meal anyway. The sausages turned out a little softer than usual, which I am going to attribute to the softness of the beans that I was using -- but they were super tasty! After steaming the sausages, I diced two of them up and sauteed them in a little olive oil before adding the kale.

The kale came with a whole boatload of garlic -- it was supposed to be garlicky, after all! -- and a bit more of the same Indian spices I'd used in the sausages. Once the kale started wilting appropriately, I added the white beans at the end. The white beans really just have to get warm, but they also need to get mixed up with the rest to make sure they get nicely coated with all those other delicious flavors.

Even though this wasn't exactly the meal I had in mind when I started out, it was a fantastic dinner! The sausages take time to cook, but it is an easy meal to throw together -- and you don't have to pay attention to the sausages while they're steaming, so you are free to go off and do something else! The Indian flavors really came through nicely in the sausages and the kale, putting a new spin on an old classic. Definitely a meal we'll be having again!