When I was a kid my mom would make sausage and cabbage in a steamer with some lemon pepper and smoked sausage, it was so tasty, so simple, and a taste that makes me think of fall. A comfort food for me, almost. I made the original a few weeks ago, but this week at the market I was inspired to do a different twist on the dish, by the star of my tweaked version:
Applegate Organic Chicken Apple Sausage
The meal is chicken apple sausage with carrot quinoa on a bed of wilted cabbage with chunky apple ginger sauce. I served some steamed cauliflower on the side. It turned out very tasty! I'll detail the meal here, if you try it, please share your feedback! This meal contains dairy in that I used butter, to make it dairy free, use a dairy free margarine or coconut oil in it's place. If you want to use a meat substitute to make it a vegetarian meal, I think that would be tasty too.
Apple Sausage with Chunky Applesauce, Quinoa, and Cabbage
- 1 C. Quinoa (rinse well in cold water in a sieve or cheesecloth)
- 1 Medium carrot, finely grated
- 1 T. Butter (or oil of your choice)
After you've rinsed your quinoa (rinsing helps eliminate that bitter taste it can take and brings out it's richer flavor), add it to a generous 2 cups of water and a dash of salt in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover and simmer until the water is gone. Add the butter and grated carrot once the quinoa has had plenty of time to rest and absorb the water. As you fluff with a fork, integrate the carrot and butter. Cover and let rest while you work on the apples and sausage.
- 1 package organic Applegate Chicken and Apple Sausage
- 4 small apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (you can use sweeter apples or tart apples, but be sure they're fresh and firm to hold up to the heat and still have texture)
- 2 T. butter (or oil of your choice)
- 1/4 C. un-filtered 100% apple juice (or another liquid, just don't use sweetened, filtered juice! It'll turn out far too sweet or caramelize too soon)
- 1 T. grated ginger
- 1 t. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 salt
- a bit of fresh ground black pepper
In a large skillet with a lid, melt your butter or oil over medium-high head and add the cubed apple pieces. toss to coat evenly and brown a bit on each side. Add sausage, cover, and lower heat to medium. Turn sausage every minute or so, once the sausage is browning visibly on all sides, add the juice and spices, stir to coat the apples and sausage evenly with the spices. Return to simmer the fluid out, covered, while you get the cabbage ready. When the liquid is gone, turn the heat off and let rest.
- small head of cabbage, quartered, cored, and sliced. ( I used purple for the color and flavor, but you could do any cabbage)
- 1 T. butter or oil
- 1/3 cup liquid, broth or water
- pinch of salt and pepper
Melt the butter into a large skillet or wok with a lid. Toss cabbage in hot butter, add liquid and put the lid on to steam and wilt. When the cabbage is finished, plate in this order: bed of cabbage, top with a scoop of quinoa, sausage either in links or cut to diagonal medallions, and finish with the chunky applesauce. You could have fun with the sides and beverage choices. I'd love an oktoberfest beer or a hard cider, I'm thinking next time I cook this some warm homemade sourdough might compliment it. :) I hope you enjoy our new twist on cabbage and sausage!
