Satisfy your carb cravings with this healthy pasta dish filled with flavor-packed Italian sausage, eggplant and kale.
Last week I gave you a glimpse inside a typical Door to Door Organics order so today I’m sharing a quick and easy recipe that uses a few items from our box. After chatting with several friends, I quickly learned that my family probably eats more fruits and vegetables than the typical American family. Trust me, I get it.
So, I figured that if I was going to take the time to recommend signing up for a weekly produce delivery service, it only makes sense that I also show you HOW to use up all of those gorgeous fruits and vegetables. After all, the key to being able to maintain long term healthy eating habits is having the tools and knowledge to put those good intentions into actions.
Today’s recipe is more of a method than a specific guideline. As always, I encourage you to mix and match with whatever you have on hand. We happened to order spicy organic pork sausage through Door to Door Organics but you are welcome to swap it out with chicken sausage, turkey sausage, you name it. Kale and eggplant work really well in this pasta but so would mushrooms, zucchini, or asparagus.
Make it your own and have fun getting in the kitchen.
Your fork is waiting.
Sausage, Eggplant and Kale Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole wheat pasta or pasta of choice
- 12 ounces uncooked Italian pork sausage or turkey/chicken sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 eggplant skin on & cubed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes optional
- 4 cups torn kale we used purple kale but any type works
- ½ cup shredded parmesan
- ½ cup minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package instructions reserving 1 cup of starchy cooking liquid.
- Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium-high and spray with cooking spray. Add sausage and begin to break down with a wooden spoon while it browns, 8-10 minutes. Remove browned sausage from pan and set aside.
- To the warm pan, add olive oil and garlic. Heat for 30 seconds before adding eggplant. salt and chili flakes. Sauté eggplant until softened, 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add reserved pasta cooking liquid and use wooden spoon to scrape brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in kale and cook 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
- Return cooked sausage and pasta to the pan and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in parmesan and parsley before serving. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
Kirsten
Liz,
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me who love to eat from the farm share.
I appreciate your help in making this index better!
Rachel H
Had eggplant and kale lying in my fridge, and googled a recipe and this popped up. Eating it atm, and its delicious!!
Liz DellaCroce
I’m so glad you found the recipe and I’m so glad you like it!!
Sally T.
I have to eat veggies and fruits as I have celiacs,I love the fact
that they deliver,as sometimes I am so sick it is hard for me
to get out all of the time.I usually incorporate mushrooms,onions,spinach
into my rice and tomatoes on my salads with apples, dried cranberries,cucumbers.I just bought fresh strawberries so I make a spinach
salad with walnuts and pears.
It is not hard when you learn how to eat so many different things~snacks are
raw carrots and celery.
Cynthia Gastelum
Veggies and Fruits make for easy snacks in my house. My daughter loves fresh strawberries and cherry tomatoes.
Christina
I make sure a vegetable is the dominant component of my lunches and dinners, and have fruit everyday with breakfast and for dessert!
Sally T.
When I was little my Dad and Mom would have to force feed me veggies,
now that I have grown up~I can not get enough,and I love to eat them
raw,especially grn.beans.I love broccoli,and I incorporate
a lot of my veggies into morning noon and night.I have Celiacs so
I have to be careful with gluten.It now is just a way of life for me,and
you just learn to ENJOY.
Karen Lynch
I make stir frys and am trying to make grain based based salads with produce in it.
april
Our family incorporates fruits and veggies but having plenty on hand to snack on…a full fruit bowl on the counter and crunchy raw veggies cut and ready in the fridge.
Kristen Varner
I’m the summer we belong to a csa. We eat at least one fruit or vegetable at each meal.
Sarah J.
We try to eat fruit and veggies at every meal and at snacks. Our favorite is peanut butter and banana ice cream. Those are the only two ingredients and it’s delicious!
Christine from Cook the Story
I love everything about this dish! Absolutely fabulous!