This fall sausage ragout has sweet potatoes and kale for a perfect fall dinner. I love it over zoodles, but you can use pasta or even polenta as a base for this yummy fall meat sauce!
Is it too long if there has to be commas in the title of the recipe? Don't answer that.
HAPPY MONDAY. Did you sleep extra this weekend? We didn't, because the cutest little alarm clock wakes up at 7am and apparently it's bad form to let a 2 year old tend to herself in the morning, much as I think she'd prooooobably do ok with the task. We did, though, eat a ton of yummy food, hit up two parks, handle some laundry, and try a new bulgogi place, so weekend events definitely happened, if not much rest.
The balance between work and getting ready for baby and trying to enjoy THIS life right now is a real struggle, as it is for every single human, and this dinner gives us the balance we can't always manage in our regular life. Zoodles for health and low carb. Sweet potatoes for...carbs. And a superfood! Sausage and parm for yum, kale for your bod. This sausage ragout is made pretty much like a regular marinara: meat then veggies then simmering, add extra salt and crushed red if you need more spice. I cook my zoodles for about 2 minutes right before we eat to wilt them just a little bit, but you can absolutely eat them raw for even more texture.
PS raw zoodles last pretty well in the fridge, so if you have a bunch of zucchini you can spiralize them all at once and keep them in a container for easy access. I find that the spiralizer is like the food processor - it makes everything super quick and easy but getting it out feels like climbing Everest some days. Which is dumb, but true. So make a bunch at once and eat them all week!
Let's zoodle.
Fall Sausage Ragout Ingredients
You need! Hot sausage - we get this stuff locally, but any kind you like is perfect, or a mild version if you aren't into spice. Then we add onion, garlic, sweet potato, allspice, stewed tomatoes (they're slightly sweet and PERFECT with the spicy sausage), walnuts, stock, and kale. Superfoods + sausage = love, right?
Start by browning the sausage in a big skillet (my favorite staub is perfect for this!) over medium-high heat. While the sausage is working, peel and dice the sweet potato, and dice the onion/mince the garlic. I cut the potato to about ⅓ inch cubes so they don't take forever to cook.
When the sausage is cooked through and crumbly, add the onion, garlic, and sweet potato to the skillet.
Stir the veggies into the sausage for about five minutes, then add the walnuts, canned tomatoes (don't drain them!), allspice, and stock. Taste the liquids in the sauce and add a few sprinkles of salt to enhance the flavors.
Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes, maybe more, until the sweet potato is soft. When the potato is cooked through, uncover the skillet and taste the sauce - it'll probably need some more salt at this point now that the sweet potato has cooked and absorbed some of the flavor. Stir in the kale and let the sauce simmer uncovered while you prep the zoodles.
I saute the zoodles in olive oil and a few sprinkles of salt, onion powder, and garlic powder over medium-high heat for just a minute or two to release some of the liquid, then I drain the zoodles just like regular spaghetti.
Slightly wilted zoodles, sauce, parm, done!
And yes, I absolutely threw a towel with a pumpkin on the table so you KNOW this is for fall.
This is SO good. It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but they work together so well and give a great combo of flavors and textures. The walnuts will soften slightly as the sauce simmers, and you can absolutely make this early in the day and stir in the kale right before serving. The allspice with the tomatoes and sausage feels so warm and comforting, and let's not forget all of the health we crammed into a sausage dish.
Make this for dinner asap. I love it with a batch of quick focaccia or no-knead bread!
Enjoy!
Fall Zoodles with Sausage, Sweet Potato, and Kale
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound hot sausage bulk or casings removed
- 1 sweet potato peeled and diced
- ½ onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 15 ounces canned stewed tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 cups baby kale
- zoodles cooked to your preference
- parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- NOTE: For the zoodles, I portion about ½ large zucchini per person, spiralized. I saute them for 1-2 minutes in olive oil over medium-high heat with a sprinkle of salt, onion powder, and garlic powder, then I drain them in a small colander right before serving. Feel free to eat them raw or any other way you like with this sauce!
- Sausage Sauce: Preheat a large skillet with a lid to medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the sausage and cook for 5-7 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon as you go. When the sausage is browned and crumbly, add the sweet potato, onion, and garlic to the skillet. Stir the veggies into the sausage for five minutes.
- Add the walnuts, tomatoes, allspice, and stock to the skillet with a sprinkle of salt. Stir the sauce together and taste; add more salt to your preference and break up the tomatoes a bit with a spoon.
- Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the sauce for 5-10 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft, then remove the lid and simmer for a few minutes more to thicken the sauce. Stir in the kale and taste once more for seasoning; add salt to your preference.
- Continue to simmer the sauce until you are ready to serve, adding water a few tablespoons at a time if the sauce reduces too much. Serve over zoodles topped with parmesan.
- Enjoy!
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