Curly Kale with Smoked Sausage.

(Dutch Boerenkool met Worst).

When living in Holland I would eat this simple peasants winter dish during the colder months. It is a real winter warmer and can certainly be classed as comfort food.

Ingredients:

Potatoes               1kg for 4 people     

Curly Kale            500 gms

Bacon lardons      150 gms

Smoked sausage  (I used Mattesons smoked pork sausage)

Gravy

Start by peeling the potatoes and cutting them into even sized pieces ready for boiling, cut the stalks out of the kale leaves and then chop into pieces. Boil the potatoes and kale in salted water until cooked, you can either put them both in the same pan or cook them separately. I prefer to cook them separately to keep the potatoes nice and white. Fry the bacon lardons in a dry pan until crisp and golden, then drain onto a piece of kitchen paper.

 

When the kale is almost cooked place the smoked sausage on top to heat it through, the smoked sausage is already cooked but does need heating up for this recipe.
When the sausage is hot drain the potatoes and mash them together with a little butter to taste. Drain the kale and add to the potatoes mashing again to get the potatoes and kale through each other.

Serve the mash on a warm plate and place slices of smoked sausage on top, then sprinkle with the bacon lardons. You could arrange the slices of sausage across the mash if you wanted to, but there is no real way to make this dish look pretty. It is after all a peasants meal, but very tasty nevertheless. Pour gravy onto the plate, and there you have it.....Dutch Boerenkool met Worst.

The Dutch often make an indentation in the middle of the mash and pour the gravy into it.