I embarked on a mission this afternoon, hoping for the best. After a morning of knowing I had turkey sausage thawed out and trying to come up with a creative way to introduce it to my family, I decided on something that would resemble a one-pot wonder we all know as stew. I am often afraid of stew…I must have had a bad stew experience in my childhood.
I set up my wonderful bright orange, Rachel Ray, dutch oven and went about buidling layers of flavors to cook over time. First, a good douse of olive oil, then in went chunks of onion and whole garlic cloves. I then, over medium-low heat, cooked the garlic and onions down. The reason I did it this way was to flavor the oil I would then use for the rest of the process. My husband doesn’t like onions, so this gets the onion flavor in without the actual onion foe.
After the onions and garlic have cooked down, take them out and discard them. (If you like garlic and onions, dice them finely and leave them in). I place three turkey sausages in the oil and seared them on both sides. This will not cook them through, this is for flavor, color and a nice crunch. Take them out and set aside to cool.
Chop up red potatoes, I used about five of them cut into eight pieces (halved, then quartered). I sprinkled a little ground sage, ground thyme and ground cumin on them and tossed them in the oil to brown. Let the potatoes brown a little on all sides, then add five cups water or half water, half chicken stock. Turn down to low and simmer for an hour or so, until the potatoes are soft.
Chop the sausage up and throw back in. Add one can of corn and one can of black beans, liquids drained from both. Add in a finely diced red pepper and put the lid back on. Let it continue cooking for another hour or so.
Serve with or without the broth and a chunk of your favorite crusty bread! Enjoy!
Thanks for having Dinner at The Hampton’s and as always, see you around the table next time!
