Kale and Sausage Frittata

cheezy, kaley, sausagey goodness

As I’ve said before, we are egg fans.  D’s kitchen philosophy is summed up with, “Everything tastes better with an egg on it.” With the hustle of the morning routine,  I don’t often have time to cook them for breakfast so a great solution is to make eggs the focus of an easy to cook dinner such as a savory flan, omelet, or frittatas
(sans potatoes for the low carbers). This past week I came across Kalyn’s Kitchen: Kale, Bacon and Cheese Breakfast Casserole. Using this as a jumping off point, I envisioned something a bit heartier for dinner that would also use up some odds and ends hanging around in the fridge including onion marmalade and a beautiful bunch of organic red kale.  I followed her directions on the cooking of the kale and the assembly of the dish but included spicy Italian sausage, some extra cheese, and a few grape tomatoes that have been slowly drying on my counter (or as I like to say, very, very slowly roasting. No really, it is quite warm in our house.) And best yet, the leftovers can be warmed up for an egg and
sausage breakfast that also includes a serving of green veggies.

Kale and Sausage Frittata (sans potatoes)

5 spicy Italian sausage links

1 bunch kale – I used a curly red kale and one bunch was about 5 sizeable stalks

1 teaspoon of  olive oil

1 Tablespoon of  water

1 tablespoon of cooked onions  – I used the leftover Doire Greenspan onion marmalade

8-10 eggs – Kalyn’s recipe calls for 10, I think I used 8. In this sort of recipe where you can wing it.

1 1/4 cup of cheese – I used a combination of chopped slices of Emmentaler and shredded Parmesan

1 handful of grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise

Salt and pepper  – let’s say a pinch and a half (Go easy on the salt if you are using  well seasoned sausage and a salty cheese like parmesan.)

Remove the sausage from its casings and sauté in a pan, crumbling it up as it cooks. When fully cooked, drain any fat. Place the sausage in an oven proof baking dish. Be sure to lightly oil your baking dish if needed; metal pans especially should be oiled as eggs will stick. (I used a 9.5 by 9.5 square ceramic baking dish.).

Prep your kale: wash by soaking in a bowl of water or the sink (dirt and sad tends to hide in the curly parts of the leaves). Remove the leaves from the stalks. The easiest way is to draw your fingers up from the base of the stalk, pushing/tearing the leaves as your fingers move up to the narrowest part of the stalk. You can also remove the leaves from the stems with a knife.  Discard the stalks and roughly chop the leaves into strips about ¾ of an inch wide. You don’t need to be very even in doing this; you just want the leaves to be chopped smaller so they are more bite sized in the dish. You can now also by pre-chopped kale in bags. Heat 1 teaspoons of oil in the same pan you cooked the sausage in and toss in the
chopped kale. Stir it around for a a few seconds then  add 1 T of water and place a lid over it to steam. Steam the kale for 2-3 minutes; it should be wilted, but still have some firmness. If you prefer softer greens, cook them a bit longer. Add the onions (and any other leftover cooked veggies you have hanging around), mix, then put kale/onion mixture into the baking dish. Distribute the sausage and kale evenly around the pan. Sprinkle tomatoes over the top.

Break eggs into bowl, add salt and pepper, beat with a fork or whisk until completely blended. Pour eggs over the sausage and vegetable mixture in the baking dish. Top with cheese. Bake in 350 oven for 25-30 minutes until firm and eggs are slightly puffy.