Leftovers Extraordinaire
The leftover odds and ends in my refrigerator near the end of the week are dear to me. These are tools for improvisation! This week, I had some chorizo sausages and escarole left over from a meal dear R cooked for us (more on that later). By adding some spice and pantry-staples, we had a spicy, satisfying one-dish meal.
And I love the colors. So pretty! I think that the flavors did balance nicely, though I might use kale instead of escarole next time around.
I find I often turn leftovers into pasta dishes - dear reader, how do you use up the remains of your crisper drawers?
I am approximating on many of the amounts in this recipe. Taste, taste and adjust as necessary.
Spicy Sausage-Rice Bowl
(makes 4-6 servings)
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes in juice, juice drained and reserved
About 1 cup water or chicken broth (I used *gasp* boullion)
Olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4-1/2 t. crushed red pepper
2 links chorizo sausage, cut into quarters lengthwise, then chopped
1 cup red wine (actually any dry wine or good beer you've got lying around would work)
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3-4 cups escarole or other bitter green, roughly chopped
Heat about 1 t. olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add rice to the pan and stir constantly until well-coated and shiny, about 1 minute. Pour tomato juice into a measuring cup and add broth or water to equal about 2 1/4 cups. Add to rice in saucepan, bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook until done, 45-60 minutes.
Heat 1 T. olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, cumin, and red pepper to taste. Stir and cook 1 minute. Add chorizo chunks and saute 3-4 minutes. Add wine to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with your hands, and beans. Simmer until saucy and much of the liquid has evaporated, about 10-20 minutes. Add escarole, cover and cook until wilted, a couple minutes.
3 comments:
The leftover contents of my crisper always end up as soup. Your recipe looks infinitely more hearty and satisfying. I bet that I could actually get my hero to eat it too! :)
i find a similar problem getting Our Hero to eat soups. odd. i love soups of all kinds. he is rather picky about soup-as-meal. i've thought that soup as a first course, rather than the main dish, might be a better way to go about this. however, much of soup's attraction is its one-dish meal status . . .
This recipe is amazing. I have never even cooked with greens before. I subsituted Italian Sausage for the Chorizo, and used beer instead of wine! BRAVO!
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