What's in the Cupboard?...Linguica

Spring cleaning is a ritual most people go through once year, where they clean, scrub and throw a lot of things out. Well in the cooking world you should have a healthy spring cleaning. Not once a year mind you, but once a week. And whereas you may find a thing or two that needs to be tossed, you'll also find a lot of things that need to be cooked. AND you may just come up with some wonderful combinations. Such was the case for me last night. Here's what I found....

In the Freezer:

Some wonderful Spanish Linguica

In the Fridge:

Some Swedish Kale (1 bunch in this case) sliced

What I threw in:

1 Lemon
2 Cloves Garlic chopped
1 Onion sliced
Pinch of Red Pepper flakes (maybe two pinches)
1 Beer (any kind will really do)
Olive Oil
Sea Salt and FG Pepper to taste

And from just these few ingredients something wonderful, tasty and perfect to serve to guests came out. This is so quick and easy you'll be blown away. OK...Let's Prep..

In a frying pan, brown the Linguica on a med high heat. Once browned, deglaze the pan with some beer and lower the flame simmer the Linguica for an additional 15 minutes or more (the more you can cook this down the more it breaks apart when you out your fork in it...and that's never bad).

In a separate frying pan splash in some olive oil and cook the onions, garlic and a pinch of the red pepper flakes. after 2-3 minutes throw in the kale. Add salt and fg pepper to taste.

TPC NOTE: This will look like a lot of kale. But trust me, this will cook down to nothing, serving two people per one bunch.

Once the kale cooks down, taste test it to make sure it has a nice soft consistency. When it's soft enough, squeeze some lemon juice (again to taste here), but I'd say a half lemon at least. TASTE! give it another minute then plate up.

Feel free to serve with a side of mashed potatoes (yes I had those around). I did a quick Whipped Parmesan Potatoes for this dish. Here's how it came out.

WINE NOTE: Keeping with the them of what was around the house, I served this with an Italian Aglianico which is a wonderful black grape from the Basilicata region of Italy it has a nice deep ruby color with black fruit and earthy aromas. You can get a really nice bottle at a very reasonable price.

Until we do this again....

Enjoy....Have Fun...and Eat Well!

TPC