Kale Chowder with Sausage and Cannellini Beans

This hearty soup, loosely based on Portugal’s Caldo Verde, is so delicious, you won’t believe it’s good for you. Kale is the star here, puréed to form a colorful base for cannellini beans and Italian sausage baked in red wine. I've made a vegetarian/vegan version omitting the sausage and substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Scrumptious either way, and leftover soup, should you have any, freezes well.

KALE CHOWDER with SAUSAGE and CANNELLINI BEANS

1½ lbs. Italian sausage (5-6 sausages)
½ cup dry red wine
¼ cup olive oil
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken broth
1 large bunch kale or Swiss chard
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

---

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prick sausages several times with sharp knife or fork. Place in a single layer in a baking pan just big enough to hold them and bake for 15 minutes. Turn and bake another 15 minutes. Drain fat and add red wine to pan. Turn sausage and bake another 15 minutes. Turn again and bake 15 minutes more. (Total baking time 1 hour.) Remove the sausages to a dish lined with paper towels and let cool.

2. Warm the broth in a sauce pan. Heat olive oil in a 6-8 quart soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and 1 tsp. salt. Cook 2 minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

3. Remove thick stems from greens. Wash greens, roughly chop, and add to soup pot. Cover and simmer another 45 minutes, until greens are tender.

4. Purée soup in batches in blender (or use an immersion blender) and return to pot. Stir in beans. Slice sausages into rings and add to pot. Simmer soup 15-20 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serves 8.

Potato Salad With Sausage and Mushrooms

A fabulous, hearty, man-pleasing dish perfect for a summer barbecue (and the ladies love it too!)

POTATO SALAD WITH SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOMS

1½ lbs. small red potatoes
1 lb. sweet Italian sausages (about 4 sausages)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup chopped scallions
1½ Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper

---

1. Wash potatoes and simmer in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender, 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then slice. Place potatoes in a large bowl.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 . Place sausages in a single layer in a baking dish. Prick several times with a fork, and bake for 15 minutes. Turn and bake for 15 minutes more. Pour off accumulated fat and add red wine. Turn and bake for 15 minutes more. Turn again and bake another 15 minutes. (Total baking time 1 hour.) Remove the sausages to a paper towel lined dish and let cool. Slice into rings and add to potatoes.

3. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add mushrooms and sauté over moderately high heat until they give up their liquid and most of it evaporates. Sprinkle on lemon juice and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add to potatoes and sausages. Add the scallions. Toss lightly to mix.

4. Place mustard, salt, pepper, white wine and stock in blender and mix well. With the machine on, slowly add remaining cup olive oil. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Zucchini Potato Pancakes

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

My husband came home from work on Friday with a bag of zucchini from a coworker's garden. So I smiled when I read Pat's recipe for Middle Eastern Zucchini Salad. Another zucchini recipe to try.

But what else could I make?

How about these delicious zucchini potato pancakes, which I served with smoked salmon and a bottle of pinot grigio for Sunday brunch. The pancakes were such a hit I made them again for breakfast on the 4th.

Using a food processor makes shredding the vegetables a snap.

Ingredients:

3 cups peeled and shredded golden potatoes (about six size B)
2 cups shredded (with skins on) zucchini
1 cup shredded onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup unbleached flour
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 teaspoons oil
sour cream

1. Place shredded vegetables between layers of paper toweling and squeeze out excess liquid.

2. In a large bowl, combine vegetables with eggs, cornmeal, flour, oregano and pepper.

3. Heat 1-teaspoon oil in a griddle or large sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, drop just a bit less than one cup of mixture into the pan and spread into a 5 to 6-inch circle. Cook until golden brown on both sides. (About 3 minutes for first side and 4 minutes for second side.)

4. Remove from pan to a parchment lined baking sheet and place in warm oven.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for six pancakes.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Creamy Carrot Purée with Pesto

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

This creamy puréed soup with a dollop of pesto is delicious. Either prepared pesto can be used or follow Pat's directions for making fresh pesto in her post for Shrimp Risotto with Green Beans and Pesto Sauce. The use of a food processor makes slicing carrots a snap.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced thin
3 golden potatoes (size B), peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) fat free, sodium reduced, chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon pepper
prepared pesto

1. Pour olive oil into a large pan. When hot, add onion and stir until limp. Add carrots and potatoes, coating with onion flavored oil. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover pan, lower heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pierced.

2. Using the purée setting on a blender, purée in small batches until smooth. Pour into a large prep bowl. When finished, return pureed soup to pan. Heat, stirring often, until hot.

3. Pour into bowls, top with dollop of pesto, and serve with toasted sourdough bread.

Makes 4 generous servings. Enjoy!