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Creamy Kale and Parmesan Bow-Ties with Homemade Chicken Sausage
The weather was a bit cooler during the evenings this weekend, which left me craving something warming and rich. I love any and all pasta dishes, but this is one of my favorites. The homemade alfredo sauce is creamy and cheesy, and it pairs perfectly with the slight spiciness of homemade chicken sausage. I add in some fresh kale for color and texture, along with shredded carrots for a hint of sweetness, and this is a perfectly balanced pasta dish. It's not healthy by any means, but it's certainly better for you than a jarred sauce and pork sausage would be, plus you get tons of added nutrients from the kale and carrots.
Start by making the chicken sausage - you can do this up to a day in advance and refrigerate the raw sausage until you're ready to use it. Combine all the seasonings first; red wine, cayenne, oregano, black pepper, smoked paprika, crushed fennel, freshly grated garlic, and lots of salt. You need more than a typical amount of salt to give the chicken the proper texture, so don't be afraid of the measurements of salt in this dish. Just make sure you're using kosher salt - iodized salt is far too strongly flavored for this and will make the chicken inedible.
Mix the ground chicken in with the spices and keep mixing it for about a minute or two - it should start to become more dense and stick together in a ball. It will become slightly springy, like sausage, instead of soft like typical ground meat.
When you're ready to make the pasta dish, you can cook the sausage. Cover a sheet pan in foil and spray it with cooking spray, then spread the chicken sausage in a thin layer and then brush the top with a bit of olive oil.
Bake the chicken sausage at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes until it is cooked through.
Once the chicken sausage is cooked, remove it from the pan with a spatula and place it on a cutting board. It should all stick together in one big piece. Cut it into cubes and set aside.
To make the sauce, start by prepping all the vegetables; finely dice half a white onion, shred five carrots, grate a few cloves of garlic, and chop up a whole bunch of kale. Make sure to wash the kale well, then drain it and set it aside. It will look like A LOT of kale, but trust me here; when the kale cooks down it'll only be about a quarter of the volume it is when fresh.
Heat a few tablespoons of butter and olive oil in a big pot, then add the onions with a pinch of salt.
Sauté them for just two or three minutes, then add the shredded carrots and cook those for another two or three minutes. Add the garlic and cook for just another minute.
Sprinkle a quarter cup of flour into the vegetables, and cook it for another minute until the flour has dissolved into the butter and oil. The vegetables will start to stick together because of the flour.
Slowly whisk in milk and chicken broth, as well as a big pinch of black pepper. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes or so until it has started to thicken - it should coat the back of a spoon.
While the sauce is simmering, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil and add the bow-ties. When the bow-ties have about 6 minutes left, add the kale to the same pot and continue cooking until the pasta is al dente.
When the sauce has thickened and the pasta is just about done, add a whole bunch of parmesan cheese to the cream sauce. Taste the sauce before you add the pasta to make sure it's properly seasoned. Add salt as needed - since different brands and varieties of parmesan have different levels of saltiness, you have to taste the sauce first and salt it accordingly.
Use a spider or strainer to drain the pasta and kale and add it to the hot alfredo sauce. Don't rinse the pasta!!! Rinsing the pasta removes all the starches that help the sauce stick to it. Just drain off most of the water and add it right into the simmering sauce so that all the pasta gets evenly coated.
Last, add in the chicken sausage. Stir everything together until it's coated in the sauce.
Serve the pasta in big bowls with more fresh parmesan on top. Perfection!
Recipe:
Total Time: 45 minutes| Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Chicken Sausage:
2 tbs dry red wine
2 tsp kosher salt (you CANNOT substitute iodized salt for this dish)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3 cloves garlic, grated
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
Cooking spray
1 tbs olive oil
Pasta:
1/2 white onion, finely diced
4 carrots, shredded
1 bunch kale, rinsed, chopped, and drained
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbs butter
3 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 12 oz. box bow-tie pasta
Sausage:
1. Combine all the ingredients for the chicken sausage in a bowl, except the cooking spray and olive oil. Mix together with a rubber spatula for at least a minute, until the mixture becomes dense and starts to form a ball. Set aside until ready to cook. This can be done up to one day ahead; be sure to refrigerate.
2. When you're ready to cook the sausage, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cover a sheet pan with foil and then spray with cooking spray.
3. Spread the chicken out in a thin layer, between 1.2 inch and 1 inch, then brush the top with the olive oil.
4. Bake for 20 minutes until the sausage is cooked through.
5. When the sausage is done, move it to a cutting board with a spatula. It should be easy to move in one piece. Dice the sausage into cubes and set aside.
Pasta:
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the carrots and sauté for another 3 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and sauté for just a minute more.
4. Sprinkle in the flour, then stir it around and cook until the flour is dissolved in the butter and oil. The vegetables will start to clump up because the flour has soaked up the moisture.
5. Slowly whisk in the milk, then the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes, whisking often, until it has thickened.
6. While the sauce is simmering, bring a separate, large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the bow-ties when it comes to a rolling boil.
7. When the pasta has about 5 or 6 minutes left, add the kale to the boiling water as well. Cook it with the pasta until the pasta is al dente.
8. When the pasta is just about done, add the parmesan cheese to the sauce, as well as salt and pepper. Taste the sauce before adding the salt because different brands of cheese can vary greatly in saltiness - the dish may need just a small pinch or up to a teaspoon.
9. Scoop the kale and pasta out of the water with a strainer or spider and add it to the cream sauce. Do not rinse the pasta beforehand; rinsing removes all the starch that helps the sauce cling to the pasta. Just drain the water out and dump it right into the simmering sauce.
10. Stir in the chicken sausage until everything is coated in the sauce. Serve in large bowls with a sprinkling of more parmesan on top.