Dinner Tonight: Sausage and Kale Tart + Baked Apples
This is one of those meals that brings immense pleasure to fans of efficiency in the kitchen. Okay, so that's probably all of us. Though technically My Pantry Shelf's sausage bespeckled, kale-errific tart bakes at 375°F and the apples at 400°F, we think you could find a happy in-between number (382 perhaps?) and bake them both at once. Dessert and dinner in one go? Yep! And as always, ready in just about an hour. It's a weeknight, after all, and you've got places to be!
The Menu
Sausage and Kale Dinner Tart by My Pantry Shelf
Serves 6
Tart Shell
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1 pinch salt
3-4 tablespoons ice water
1. Cut the butter into small cubes. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until butter is pea-sized. Slowly drizzle water through the top of the food processor while pulsing. You have added enough water when the dough sticks together when pressed.
2. Remove dough from processor and press gently into a disc. Wrap disc in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Remove dough from refrigerator and unwrap. Place disc on a lightly floured board. Roll dough into a circle 12 inches in diameter. Place dough in 10 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Dock dough with a fork. Lay parchment paper or foil over dough and fill with beans or pie weights.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blind bake the tart shell (with pie weights) for 20 minutes. Then remove parchment and weights and bake an additional 5 minutes until the crust begins to brown. Remove from oven and set aside on cooling rack.
Sausage and Kale Filling
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound Italian sausage
1 large bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup fresh basil, cut into thin strips
1 egg
1/4 cup ricotta (or another soft cheese like feta or goat cheese)
Salt and pepper
1. Heat oil and butter in pan on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until onions are soft and light brown. Season with salt and pepper. Remove onions from pan and set aside.
2. Increase heat to medium and add sausage to pan. Brown sausage and break into small pieces. Remove sausage from pan and set aside. Drain all but 1 Tablespoon of oil from pan.
3. Add kale to pan. Pour white wine over kale. Scrape any bits from the pan and cover. Cook 3-5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Season with salt and pepper. If kale is still very wet, cook uncovered for a minute or two. The overall mixture should be fairly dry. Remove kale to a large bowl.
4. Toss cooked kale with cooked sausage and onions. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Toss mixture with basil, egg, and ricotta. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon sausage and kale mixture into cooked tart shell. Be sure to evenly cover the bottom of the tart shell. Bake the tart on a baking tray for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove tart from oven when the filling is set and the tart shell is nicely brown. Cool tart slightly on a wire rack. Slice and serve with a big green salad.
Get the recipe for Apples Baked in Cider on Food52.
The Grocery List
Serves 4 with leftovers
2 cups apple cider
4 firm apples
1/2 pound Italian sausage
1 large bunch kale
1/2 cup ricotta
We're betting you have butter, olive oil, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a little white wine. If not, you'll be needing all of that, too.
The Plan
1. Whip up the pastry shell. 14 steps sounds like a lot of work, but it's not. It'll come together in 25 minutes, and that includes a 20 minute blind bake. Promise.
2. Speaking of the blind bake, that's a great time to prepare the apples for their bake. Pop them in the oven as soon as they're ready, because they need about 40 minutes, whereas the tart only needs 15 to 20.
3. Prepare the tart filling and pour it into the shell. As soon as it's ready, put them in the oven alongside the apples (which should be smelling pretty good by now).
4. Slice the tart and serve! A little later, dig into a soft, cinnamon-and-buttery apple. If you want to top it with ice cream, that wouldn't be a terrible thing.
First photo by Sarah Shatz; second photo by Jennifer Causey