We have been eating a lot of pork lately! The way I decide what to make usually goes like this… Jackie procrastinates by perusing food blogs and food magazines… Jackie is sucked in by some yummy looking food photos or tasty food description… Jackie obsesses over this recipe for the rest of the day/week until Jackie can procure the ingredients and get to cookin’… And that’s how I found myself salivating over these crispy, fatty carnitas tacos topped with spicy slaw and fresh avocado! I’ve actually made these tacos before, about three years ago, right when James and I first met. He was away in London visiting family when I made them, and I remember sending him a picture of my finished product, extraordinarily proud of the flavor and tenderness I’d coaxed from the pork meat. He sent back a sad face emoji, and some complaint along the lines of “why you making such delicious food without me?!” and I knew it was true love, because he knew that the way to my heart was endless praise of my cooking.

Now, I’ve finally gotten around to making these again, this time with James in the country, and they were every bit as good as I remember. The pork simmers down flavorful and succulent, with the citrus adding a bright, zesty zing to complement the richness of the meat. The slaw is crunchy, fresh, and spicy from the onions and serrano peppers. It’s a refreshing topping for the tacos, but I also add another scoopful as a side and eat it all on its own.

These carnitas focus on a few, quality ingredients. Use fresh everything (don’t even think about bottled lime juice), and let them cook slowly. The meat braises in the water bath to tenderize, and then, once the water cooks off, it fries in its own rendered fat, resulting in crisp, browned edges. The carnitas need a long time to cook, but other than the time factor, they are relatively hands off. The slaw is fairly easy as well (if requiring a blender or food processor), so you can easily get other Sunday jobs done while checking in on the kitchen every once in a while. You could, conceivably, even make these on a weeknight if you can get off early from work, are somehow incredibly masochistic, and don’t mind eating dinner after 8 PM. How do I know? Confession – I did exactly that. I meant to make these on Sunday, but was having too much fun, or napping too much, or went out to watch BlacKkKlansman (YES!! Please watch this movie – it’s amazing!), or… something, and didn’t manage to make any dinner that day. Oops. Anyway, this is a roundabout way of saying that I made these on a weeknight (because I could not stop my obsession – see above), but no sane person should.

However, for the chilly fall Sunday that will inevitably pop up, when the sky outside is grey and dark, these tacos will bring all the color and cheer of the tropics into your kitchen. This recipe is also great for a dinner party, as it makes a ton of tacos with relatively minimal effort from you. I’d say the carnitas recipe would make enough for at least 12 tacos, as written; I see no reason why you couldn’t also scale the recipe up. The slaw recipe will definitely provide enough slaw to dress 12 tacos, with likely also a scoop for everyone on the side. Warm some tortillas, add some avocado slices, chopped cilantro, onion, and tada! Taco parties are the best parties.

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Carnitas Tacos

Source: Smitten Kitchen, where it was adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 2 to 3 limes)
• 4+ cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (I think I used maybe 7?)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• For serving: Green onion cabbage slaw (recipe below), corn tortillas, avocado slices, chopped cilantro, or other fixings of your choice

Instructions

• Place the pork in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot. Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt, and enough water to just barely cover the meat. Most of the meat should be covered, but it's okay if the tips stick out - they will still cook in the steam. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for two hours. Don’t touch the meat.
• After two hours, increase the heat to medium-high. Occasionally stirring and turning the pieces of meat, continue to cook for about 45 minutes, or until all of the liquid has evaporated, leaving only the rendered pork fat. Let the meat sizzle in this fat until it browns at the edges, turning pieces gently (to prevent them from falling apart) to brown the other side.
• When pork has browned on both sides, it’s done. Add seasonings to taste, if necessary. Serve on warmed tortillas with a scoop of slaw and desired fixings.

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Green Onion Cabbage Slaw

Source: Smitten Kitchen, where it was adapted from Bobby Flay

Ingredients

• 1 cup green onions, coarsely chopped (I used about 1 1/2 bunches)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 serrano chiles
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 head purple cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves (I upped the cilantro because I love cilantro; for less cilantro flavor, use 1/4 cup)

Instructions

• Blend green onions, vinegar, chiles, mayonnaise, oil, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor until emulsified. Place cabbage and red onions in a bowl, add the dressing, and toss until combined. Fold in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

The purple cabbage is hardy, and thus holds up fairly well to the dressing. We ate slaw that had already been dressed the second day as leftovers, and it wasn't too watery or soggy. However, the flavor and crunch is always best if you mix the cabbage/onions and dressing together just before serving, and mix just enough for the meal of that day.

I lived in Italy for six months when I was 23 years old, because, well, Italy. I was out of college with not that many employable skills (having majored in English), and I basically decided that Italy was as good a place as any to plunk down and think about the rest of my life. I taught English in middle schools, evening classes, and corporate offices. I was in love with the country, the language, the Mediterranean sunshine, and the mountains. But of course, what I most loved was the food. I basically ate my way through Italy. I never met a pizza or a pasta I didn’t immediately scarf down. I hunted down regional specialties with eagle-eyed precision, sampling pesto in Genoa, bolognese in Bologna, granita in Sicily, and prosciutto in Parma. Probably every other day, I treated myself to a gelato – pistachio and strawberry (fragola) were my go-to’s. I dunked Mulino Bianco cookies in cappuccinos for breakfast and bought focaccia studded with salty olives and sweet onions for lunch. I discovered buffalo mozzarella and new food trends that tickled me to the core with delight – apparently, the Sicilians started the trend of eating brioche con gelato (which is basically a brioche bun stuffed with gelato) for breakfast, and I never wanted anything else with my cappuccino.

The food is ridiculous in Italy. Honestly, every trip to the supermarket felt like a culinary adventure. I would buy the pre-made, prepackaged Barilla brand raviolis in the refrigerated section, and they would taste better than any of the pastas I could remember eating in the States. Sometimes I went to people’s houses for English lessons, and sometimes they would offer me lunch – I still remember a pasta dish with soft, wilted zucchini and charred potatoes that was so simple, yet so addictive. The last time I was in Italy was probably over 10 years ago, and I am way overdue for a food tour.

The thing I love about Italian cooking is that it often focuses on only a few ingredients, and prizes quality of those ingredients above elaborate preparation or technique. What this translates to is straightforward, simple weeknight cooking! I really love this spaghetti carbonara because it is easy, yet creamy, rich, and delicious. It’s also fairly foolproof – the worse that will happen is that you might cook the eggs instead of coating the pasta with them, but apparently scrambled eggs and pasta are also a thing in Italy, and it sounds delicious to me, so I don’t think I would even mind if this happened. So go ahead – find the most gourmet pancetta, cheese, and butter you can, pour some wine, and get an Italian feast together in under 30 minutes.

We personally ate this with sautéed leeks and roasted brussels sprouts, and one of James’s old fashioneds. Time to dinner, including all sides: about 45 minutes.

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Spaghetti Carbonara

Source: BBC Good Food

Ingredients

• 4 ounces pancetta
• 3 large eggs
• 1 3/4 ounces grated pecorino cheese (about 1/2 packed cup)
• 1 3/4 ounces grated parmesan cheese (about 1/2 packed cup)
• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (sometimes I use half butter, half olive oil to make the dish a bit lighter)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• Salt and lots of freshly grated black pepper

Instructions

• Put a large pot of water on to boil. If the pancetta isn’t chopped already, remove any rind and chop into small cubes about 1/4-inch across. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the two cheeses to the eggs, season with lots of freshly grated black pepper, and stir to combine. Set aside.
  
• Salt the pasta water liberally. When the water has boiled, add the spaghetti and stir so that the noodles don’t stick together. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until done.
• While the pasta is cooking, start the pancetta. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the pancetta and garlic. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp. You can now discard the garlic, or, if you’re like me and enjoy eating large garlic cloves drenched in butter, feel free to leave them in. (I sometimes chop the garlic coarsely, and then just leave the pieces in. The butter really mellows their flavor, and they become quite flavorful)
• After the pancetta has browned, turn the heat to low. Drain the pasta when it’s cooked, but reserve 1 cup or so of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the pancetta in the skillet. Alternatively, you can transfer the pasta straight from the pot to the skillet with a pasta fork or tongs. Either way, don’t worry if pasta water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen).
• Remove the skillet of spaghetti and pancetta from the heat. Pour in the egg and cheese mixture, and, moving quickly, use tongs or a long fork to toss the spaghetti and pancetta with the egg mixture. You’ll want to move and toss the pasta around quickly so that the egg mixture doesn’t cook and scramble. Add some splashes of the pasta water to thin out the cheese sauce to your desired consistency. I would start with about 1/4 cup and add more if needed – I usually end up using about 1/2 cup. The pasta should look silky, smooth, and glossy, and the noodles should slide about fairly freely. If the dish looks dry and stiff, just add more pasta water and mix. Season with a little salt, if needed, and lots of freshly grated black pepper. Toss until everything is combined.
• Serve immediately (in warmed bowls, if you're being fancy; spaghetti carbonara cools quite rapidly), topped with more freshly grated black pepper and grated cheese, if you prefer.

Introducing for your spicy, numbing food pleasure, Szechuan peppercorns!

I love spicy food, and I love Szechuan food in particular. Chili fish, chili green beans, spicy chili peanut noodles all get my mouth watering! Besides chili, an incredibly underrated staple spice that gives Szechuan food its distinctive, tongue-tingling, numbing flavor is the almighty Szechuan (also spelled Sichuan) peppercorn. Despite its name, the Szechuan peppercorn is not actually related to either black pepper or chili pepper at all. Instead, it is the pinkish-red dried outer husks of berries found on the prickly ash shrub, a squat shrub or small tree in the citrus family. Thus, the peppercorns have been described to have slight lemony overtones, although I’ve never noticed this. (Full disclosure – I’ve been eating these things all my life, and only now did I learn from Wikipedia that the Szechuan peppercorn is not a peppercorn. Mind. Blown. This blog teaches me so many things.)

You can find these peppercorns at any Asian supermarket or specialty spice store. They’re getting more popular, and I now see them in the spice aisle of large American supermarkets. Amazon also sells them, but I’ve never bought spices off Amazon, so I can’t vouch for their freshness. I’ve only seen them sold as whole peppercorns, although I’ve heard they can also be sold as a more finely ground powder – similar to ground black pepper. I buy them whole and crush them to coarse pieces in a mortar and pestle before using. James absolutely adores these peppercorns and will just throw them randomly on anything he cooks, from steaks to chow fun to roasted vegetables, so they can be very versatile!

Anyway, a very popular and common Szechuan dish is MaPo tofu, a stir-fry of cubes of soft tofu with ground pork, chili, and scallions, all laced with fragrant, numbing Szechuan peppercorns. The flavor and sensation that Szechuan peppercorns impart in your mouth is described in Chinese as “mala,” literally translating to “numbing spice,” or “numbing heat.” You’ll see the term “mala” a lot at Szechuan restaurants, as much of the food is served with a fiery red mala sauce composed of Szechuan peppercorns, chili peppers, garlic, ginger, star anise, and other spices.

MaPo tofu is super easy to make, and is meant to be ladled on top of a mound of steaming hot rice, soaking up all the juices, that will have you slurping up every silky bite. Disclaimer: my version is probably not that “authentic,” although for a dish as simple and omnipresent as MaPo tofu, it’s hard to specify what authentic really means. My version contains my shortcuts and my memories. I also cheat by buying these lovely sauces from Lee Kum Kee – they are a Hong Kong-based food company whose sauces have fully permeated the American market. The black bean sauce adds a flavorful, salty punch to the tofu, and if you like the tofu spicier, you can add chili oil as well (I suspect that to be more authentic, the chili oil should actually be mandatory, not optional, and I should probably make it from scratch with dried red chilis, but… this is the beauty of Chinese food – the continent and the diaspora is so vast, that the food easily morphs and adapts as the country’s immigrants move to new places, get commutes, and have to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Shrug!). The dish should be made with soft tofu, although you can use silken tofu as well – it will just crumble a bit more. For Szechuan peppercorn novices, I suggest you start with about 1 teaspoon and see how you like the flavor; you can always add more at the very end. For Szechuan peppercorn aficionados, I go all the way up to about 1 1/2 tablespoons of peppercorns. Try to crush them if you can, or find the preground powder. In laziness, I’ve definitely tossed Szechuan peppercorns into dishes whole before. It’s alright – whole, they don’t really impart their flavor to the rest of the dish, and you’ll just get little zingers of VERY INTENSE NUMBING PEPPERCORNNESS when you luck into a bite containing a peppercorn. Like I said, just alright.

We served this with some sautéed spinach and white rice. Total time to dinner, including sides: about 45 minutes (rice takes about an hour to cook in the rice cooker, but that’s not really active time).

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MaPo Tofu

Ingredients

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (can substitute regular)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns, crushed, or more to taste (start with 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon if your Szechuan peppercorns are preground into a very fine powder)

For the rest of the dish:

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 packages soft tofu (16 ounces each)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce, or more to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons chili black bean sauce
• Optional: chili oil

Instructions

• Combine the pork with all of the marinade ingredients, and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Drain the soft tofu, and cut into large squares, about 1 - 1.5 inches across.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger and about half the scallions and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pork with all of the marinade sauce and cook, stirring, until the pork is cooked through and no trace of pink remains, about 5 minutes. Scoop pork with a slotted spoon into a separate bowl and set aside, leaving behind the sauce and juices in the pan.
• Add the tofu cubes into the skillet, along with the rest of the scallions and the regular soy sauce. Add the chili black bean sauce and the chili oil, if using. Cook until the tofu is slightly crumbling at the edges, about 3 minutes. Tofu is perfectly fine to eat right out of the package, so you're just heating it up here.
• Add the pork back into the pot and stir to combine. Taste and add more sauce, chili oil, or Szechuan peppercorns, if desired.

I present to you, the humble but delicious taro!

Or, the humble malanga! Folks, I must be honest – I don’t actually know what this thing is called. I’ve always been told growing up that it was taro. However, I’ve since seen it labeled as both taro and malanga in supermarkets, and what I’ve found on the internet is hardly conclusive. Either way, it hardly matters – they are close cousins, sharing the same family. I’m actually now convinced that anything labeled taro can really be one of many cousins, and it’s more important to just go by appearance when grocery shopping. I’m going to call this thing taro throughout the rest of the post. Let me know your opinions, but unless I get definitive evidence otherwise, taro it shall be.

The taro I love, the taro I’ve always eaten in this recipe growing up, is a large, ovoid tuber, about 2-3 pounds in size, with light brown, bumpy, scaly skin. I don’t usually buy it in its completely unprocessed form, however; in the Chinese supermarkets I’ve shopped at, it’s usually peeled, cut into pieces, and vacuum-sealed, as in the picture above. The flesh is a milky, slippery white, with flecks of purple interspersed throughout. Growing up, my mom always told me that the less purple flecks you can see, the more tender the tuber, but that seems like an old wives’ tale, so take from that what you will.

Sometimes, you’ll see smaller tubers also being labeled taro (I know – it is a confusing world out there). These tubers will be much smaller, maybe slightly smaller than the size of your fist, with dark brown skin covered with shaggy brown hair. All I can say is that these are another cousin, and have a distinctly different texture and slightly different flavor, and I don’t use them for this recipe.

Anyway! Nomenclature aside, taro is absolutely delicious. It’s got the texture of a potato, but a stronger nutty, umami flavor – like cassava or yam. It can be treated exactly like a potato, and be boiled, mashed, fried, or chipped. However, even though it’s very starchy, it’s still more nutritious than a potato, and contains lots of fiber, potassium, iron, vitamin C, and vitamin A. My favorite way to prepare it is to simmer it, then mix it with heavily seasoned, salty pork and lots of garlic and scallions, until the taro edges break down and the whole thing turns into a warm, comforting, flavorful mash, with intact hunks of taro and spicy meat. It’s not pretty food. But trust me – it is the epitome of ugly delicious.

I’ve always eaten this with rice – this makes quite a salty, strongly flavored dish, and pairs wonderfully with fluffy rice and some garlicky green vegetables. Yes, it’s carb on carb, but I’m the girl who used to eat potato salad sandwiches as a child. Besides, taro is healthy – see above! – and it’s delicious with rice.

Served with rice and sauteed Chinese broccoli. Total time to dinner, including sides: about 1 hour, but maybe 20 minutes of that is waiting for the rice to cook in the rice cooker.

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Taro with Minced Pork and Scallions

Ingredients

Marinade for the pork:

• 2 tablespoons regular soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• Optional: Szechuan peppercorns, white pepper

For the rest of the dish:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 1/2 - 2 pounds taro
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
• Canola or neutral oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Combine the pork with all of the marinade ingredients. Mix gently to combine, and let sit for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the taro and rest of the ingredients.
• If you have a whole taro, cut it in half and cut away the brown skin with a knife. Rinse bits of skin and other debris away. Cut the taro into large chunks, about 1.5-by-1.5 inches.
• Heat 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and half of the scallions and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pork together with all of the marinade. Cook, stirring, until the pork is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the pork from the pot with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the sauce, and set aside.
• Add the cubed taro to the pot. Add the soy sauce, some dashes of salt and pepper, and about 3/4 cup of water to the pot, and stir to combine over medium-high heat. When the liquid in the pot comes to a boil, cover and simmer at medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring periodically. The taro is ready when it starts crumbling at the edges and a fork moves cleanly and easily through it. You can also taste a piece - it should be starchy and soft throughout, like a boiled potato, with no hard or crunchy bits. If the pot starts looking dry before the taro is ready, add more water, 1/4 cup at a time. If the taro is ready and the pot still looks very soupy, uncover and turn the heat up to evaporate the extra liquid.
• When the taro is ready, add the rest of the scallions and the pork back into the pot, and stir gently to combine and heat everything through. I like to break apart the outer edges of the taro so that it forms a mash, but there will still be distinct bits of taro within the mash. It's sort of like the consistency of a warm potato salad!

I discovered this spice shop a few weeks ago in Chicago, and I. am. in. LOVE. It’s called The Spice House, and it’s got about everything you could possibly want to flavor any kind of food. It smells amazing inside, like pepper and cinnamon and cumin and garlic and onion, and there are friendly, smiling salespeople milling around filling little plastic baggies full of spices you can buy by the ounce. All of the spices have a tasting bottle, where you sprinkle the contents onto your hand and then lap them up. The store has every single kind of spice you can possibly need, but it also has hundreds of incredibly varied, tantalizing spice blends like Ozark Fried Chicken Seasoning, Back of the Yards Garlic Pepper Butcher’s Rub, Fajita Seasoning, and Dill Dip Mix, for when you just need a shortcut of flavor. The place is amazing. Just writing about it makes my mouth water.

Now I’ve wanted to buy a premium lemon pepper blend for a long time, ever since I last visited my parents in California and my mom made these amazing oven ribs that were marinated simply in some salt, soy sauce, and lemon pepper seasoning. The lemon pepper added a zing, a tartness, a spice that really played well with the pork. And at the Spice House, I fell in love with the Sunny Spain Salt-Free Seasoning. This is a simple blend containing just black pepper, lemon peel, garlic powder, onion powder, and citric acid for extra tang. I prefer salt-free spice blends because I like the flexibility of adjusting salt levels to my own taste and needs. Lemon pepper is such a versatile, easy spice blend that you can’t really add too much of it, but you can definitely add too much salt, so I like keeping these two seasonings separate. Since I’ve gotten this spice blend, I’ve been just sprinkling it on random things – chicken stir fries, roasted vegetables, baked fish – the world can be flavored with lemon pepper!

I really love it on pork chops, however. Pork can be a little boring for me. It’s not as flavorful as beef, but it’s not as versatile as chicken. Most of the pork I eat seems to come in heavily seasoned, fatty sausage form. But pork chops – easy breezy pork chops – are a gold mine in Fuss Factor 1 weeknight cooking! Punched up with lemon pepper, I find them to be juicy, flavorful, and tender.

For pork chop novices, here is an excellent guide to all the different cuts you can buy. Cliffs notes version: try to buy bone-in rib chops or loin chops – these will yield the most flavorful, tenderest results (the bone both adds flavor and also slows down the meat’s cooking, reducing the chance of overcooking). Also try to buy the thickest cuts you can find (they’re sometimes labeled as double-cut pork chops: aim for at least 3/4-inch thick) – these will also be less prone to overcooking and be more tender. You will see from the pictures that I did not follow my own advice – my pork chops are boneless loin chops. It’s just because there was an incredible meat sale going on at my local supermarket – I am a sucker for sales and could not resist 3.36 pounds of meat for $6.72 (fellow Chicagoans, Mariano’s Market has the most outrageous meat sales – am I right??). These cuts were rather lean, and in hindsight, probably would have benefited from a brine for maximum flavor and tenderness.

Anyway, we served these pork chops with some roasted carrots and quinoa (which James did not like). Total time for dinner, including sides: about 40 minutes.

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Lemon Pepper Pork chops

Adapted from The Kitchn

Ingredients

• Pork chops (at least 3/4-inch thick, preferably bone-in)
• Olive oil
• Your favorite salt-free lemon pepper seasoning
• Salt

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 400°F. On the middle rack of the oven, place a large ovensafe skillet (I used a 12-inch cast-iron pan) to heat as well.
• Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. Rub both sides with olive oil, then season liberally with the lemon pepper seasoning and salt. I sprinkle lots of lemon pepper on both sides of the pork chop, covering the entire surface, and also rub some on the sides. It's really hard to have too much lemon pepper if the seasoning blend doesn't contain salt, so feel free to be heavy handed. Salt is what tenderizes and flavors the pork chop, so feel free to be liberal with that too - I use about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt (or 1/4 teaspoon of table salt) per pork chop. 
• Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven (be sure to use oven mitts) and set it over medium-high heat on the stovetop.
• Place the pork chops in the hot skillet. They should immediately begin to sizzle. Sear until the bottom of the chops are golden-brown, about 3 minutes. It's okay if the chops start to smoke. If too much smoke is coming out, turn the heat down a bit.
• Flip the pork chops using tongs, and transfer the skillet immediately to the oven (don't forget those oven mitts!).
• Roast the pork chops until they are cooked through and register 145°F in the thickest part of the meat with a digital thermometer. Cooking time will be 6 to 12 minutes depending on the thickness of the chops and the temperature they were at the start of cooking. Start checking the chops at 6 minutes, and then check every one to two minutes, as needed, until they're ready.
• Transfer the pork chops to a plate, along with any pan juices in the skillet. Tent loosely with foil and let the chops rest for at least 5 minutes before serving or cutting.

Sausage Kale Pasta was going to be the name of my blog. When I first started thinking about starting a blog, I was sure I’d hit upon the perfect domain name! Sausage kale pasta is definitely the dinner that James and I make the most frequently, and this little three-word combination is bandied around our kitchen like a tennis ball whenever we’re at a loss for dinner ideas. It is the epitome of a nonfussy, forgiving, foolproof weeknight dinner. You can add more or less of each ingredient you like, you can add other ingredients, it being endlessly customizable, it is a one-pot meal that allows you to incorporate oh so many fresh vegetables, and it can be on the table in 30 minutes, max. Plus, it is DELICIOUS! Come on, friends, go to sausagekalepasta.com for all your weeknight dinner needs!

Then James pointed out some flaws with this plan. Sausage kale pasta doesn’t exactly represent the whole diversity of the weeknight dinners I make (and that diversity is incredible, yeah? Yeah?). Would I tag my Instagram pictures #sausagekalepasta? What if it’s a picture of a fried chicken drumstick? What about the desserts that I love to make? Well, maybe I can abbreviate my Instagram tag to #skp, I suggested. No such luck – inconceivably, #skp already exists and I think it has to do with hair dye. What about #skpkitchen? A bit wordy, and also, maybe a bit too similar to #smittenkitchen, which I adore and dare not cross.

And so, sausagekalepasta.com was abandoned, and the hunt for a new name was on. I wanted the name to be creative, and not tooo on-the-nose (Weeknight Cooking was out. It was probably already taken). Some usual suspects (The Fearless Chef) were already taken; other names that I thought were more unique (Recipe Obsessed) turned out to be not that unique, as they were also snatched up. Some names that I thought were clever were rejected by James (Dine and Dusted – “is that a pun? What’s it a pun on?”; Very Food Motivated – “what does that even mean?”). In the end, James was rooting for The Trials of a Chef – because I try out lots of recipes, but I also undergo quite a trial trying to get dinner on the table when James gets home from his long commute and he can’t think about anything other than how huuuuuunnnngrrryyyyyyyyy he is. I liked the name, but I still thought it was a bit too wordy and maybe a bit too literal? Also, can I call myself a chef?? The next morning, however, I woke up, yelled out “Trial by Fryer!” to James eating breakfast in the kitchen while I was still in bed, and this little project was born.

But even though sausage kale pasta, the domain name, may be retired, sausage kale pasta, the dinner, will never be. Guys – it is so easy. It’s literally sausage, kale, and pasta. Plus some garlic, crushed red pepper, and good olive oil. In the pictures, we’ve added mushrooms, but you don’t have to. If you want it to be more flavorful and interesting, add any of the additions I suggest at the end, or come up with your own! But trust that it will be delicious even if you don’t add anything other than the original ingredients. Feel free to treat this recipe as more of a technique, one that you can modify to your own tastes and really make your own.

And so, I give you – my favorite weeknight dinner, the secret weapon in my arsenal, something I never need a recipe for anymore and neither will you, after you make it once – the humble, the magical, the uplifting, sausage kale pasta.

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Sausage Kale Pasta

Ingredients

• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound Italian sausage, without the casings
• 1-2 bunches kale (This really depends on how you like your pasta. The dish will accommodate 2 bunches for a more vegetable-forward pasta, and 1 bunch for a more sausage-forward pasta)
• 1 pound pasta (I like to use the funnest shapes I can find in the pasta aisle, like campanelle, cellentani, or gemelli)
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

• Put a big pot of water on to boil, and salt water liberally. When water is boiling, cook the pasta according to directions. Drain, but reserve some pasta cooking water in case the dish is too dry at the end.
• While waiting for the water the boil and the pasta to cook, prep and cook the rest of the dish. Wash the kale, rinsing under cold running water. Remove tough stems and tear or cut the kale into chunks about half the size of your palm.
• Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a very large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sausage and break it apart into bite-size pieces with chopsticks or a wooden spatula. Add crushed red pepper flakes and continue cooking until sausage is browned and mostly cooked through, with just a tiny hint of pink in the middle. This will take 5-7 minutes.
• Add the kale into the skillet and season with a few dashes of salt and generous black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the kale wilts, about 5 minutes. If you have way too much kale for your pan, as I always do, don’t fret. Just pile in as much as you can, and continue stirring and rotating. When the kale in the pan starts to cook down, add the rest of the kale and continue stirring to distribute.
• When the kale is wilted and soft, and the sausage is completely cooked through, add the cooked and drained pasta, stirring in some pasta water if the dish looks too dry. Toss everything together, cooking for about another minute or two.

Notes

Optional Add-Ins:

Protein:

Pancetta - Cook together with the sausage, or substitute pancetta for sausage. Pancetta is fattier and saltier than sausage, so I usually use about 8 ounces of pancetta if I’m substituting entirely.

Chicken - This dish really works best with sausage, because that’s what provides most of the fat and flavor. However, I have made it with chicken before. In this case, dice up 1 pound of chicken breast or chicken thighs, and cook in place of the sausage. While cooking, season liberally with salt, pepper, and whatever spices you have in your cabinet. I like using cumin, chili powder, coriander, onion powder, and white pepper. Add some generous splashes of these spices while you’re cooking the chicken, and be liberal with the olive oil!

Vegetables:

Onion - I almost always add an onion now, although when I started this recipe I never used to. I think it adds a depth of flavor and is an incredibly easy step. Chop one onion and add it to the olive oil with the garlic. Cook until the onion starts becoming translucent, about 3, then add the sausage meat.

Mushrooms - You can see in the pictures we've added mushrooms here. I use about 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms (use your favorite variety; this dish can also accommodate more if you really like mushrooms). Add the mushrooms to the cooking sausage after the sausage is just starting to brown, after about 3 minutes.

Spinach - Add a few handfuls of spinach along with the kale. Alternatively, you can substitute spinach for kale.

Aromatics:

Garlic powder, chili powder, white pepper - Add them to the cooking meat, the cooking kale, or the final product!

Herbs: parsley, oregano - Add at the end when you’re tossing the dish together.

Sauces - Stir in some tomato sauce or fresh cream when tossing all the ingredients together.