Daily Archive

I really need cooking classes. I know the mechanics of cooking, but don’t know which flavors complement each other and why. Take this recipe for instance. I threw it together with foods lingering in the refrigerator the night before shopping day. I took a bit of a risk in combining them, since many of them have strong, distinct flavors on their own. I had no idea if the end product would be even edible, but it turned out rather yummy.

I followed my basic skillet meal skeleton of pasta, tomato, cheese, meat, vegetable. But was really nervous until the final tasting. It doesn’t even have a name, but it deserves one.

1 tablespoon bacon fat
1 pound mild grassfed bulk pork sausage
8 leaves kale
1/2 jar tomato sauce*
1/2 pound shredded Tomme de Nena cheese**
1 pound penne pasta
beet kvass for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat skillet with bacon fat, add and brown sausage. Strip kale from stems and chop finely, adding to skillet. Pour in tomato sauce and let simmer. Drain, rinse and re-drain cooked pasta and add to skillet. Return to simmer, add cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes. Top each serving with a few sprinkles of beet kvass.

*Please be careful with cans of tomato products, as nearly all contain BPA, an endocrine disruptor. A safer choice would be sauce from a glass jar. Of course, the best option is fresh tomatoes in season, and the second best would be your own home-jarred sauce.

**Tomme de Nena cheese is a very special cheese I purchase at my farmer’s market from Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese. It’s made from double cream Brie curds and is very rich with a burst of flavor.

I imagine this would also be very good with ground lamb, but I don’t know that for sure! I liked the little bit of tartness the beet kvass added. There were no leftovers, so that’s always a good sign.

Can anyone recommend a good book on how to combine foods for flavor enhancement? Or maybe I should find out if Edible Aria‘s author is available for home classes, since combining flavors seems to be one of the many manifestations of his particular genius.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays, hosted this week by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.