German Stir-Fry
Aug. 19th, 2009 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damontNotes from tonight's dinner experiment.
Take about 1.25 pounds bratwurst links. In this case, 5 links. FROZEN -- because the next step is to slice them into 1/4 inch thick coins, and that's hella easier when they're frozen. Put sausage slices into a fry pan and brown.
Take about a pound of chard, cut up into more or less bite size pieces, and saute it. If you can't find chard, take a pound of kale or turnip greens or mustard greens, and saute *that* -- but the latter two, at least, will require some boiling and simmering before they are tender enough to saute. The kale might require some pre-cooking too. Anyway, this time I was using turnip and mustard greens, so I started them before cutting up the sausage.
Add the sausage into the greens, then into the fry pan used for the sausage put about 1.25 pounds diced potatoes. (I cheated and used Simply Potatoes, diced variety.) Cook until done to your taste. The directions on the Simply Potatoes package cooked them up drier than we'd have preferred. Add greens and sausage back to the potatoes, stir like hell to mix it all up good, and simmer until warmed through.
Next time, per![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
montuos's suggestion: don't cook the potatoes quite so much before adding the greens and sausage, then add 1/2 cup dry white wine, and 1/2 cup water, plus possibly more water; simmer *covered* until the potatoes are done to taste. This should yield somewhat softer potatoes, and should better distribute the salt out of the sausage and into the potatoes and greens.
Take about 1.25 pounds bratwurst links. In this case, 5 links. FROZEN -- because the next step is to slice them into 1/4 inch thick coins, and that's hella easier when they're frozen. Put sausage slices into a fry pan and brown.
Take about a pound of chard, cut up into more or less bite size pieces, and saute it. If you can't find chard, take a pound of kale or turnip greens or mustard greens, and saute *that* -- but the latter two, at least, will require some boiling and simmering before they are tender enough to saute. The kale might require some pre-cooking too. Anyway, this time I was using turnip and mustard greens, so I started them before cutting up the sausage.
Add the sausage into the greens, then into the fry pan used for the sausage put about 1.25 pounds diced potatoes. (I cheated and used Simply Potatoes, diced variety.) Cook until done to your taste. The directions on the Simply Potatoes package cooked them up drier than we'd have preferred. Add greens and sausage back to the potatoes, stir like hell to mix it all up good, and simmer until warmed through.
Next time, per
montuos's suggestion: don't cook the potatoes quite so much before adding the greens and sausage, then add 1/2 cup dry white wine, and 1/2 cup water, plus possibly more water; simmer *covered* until the potatoes are done to taste. This should yield somewhat softer potatoes, and should better distribute the salt out of the sausage and into the potatoes and greens.
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Date: 2009-08-20 04:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-20 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-20 04:35 pm (UTC)I deliberately didn't add herbs or spices this time, in part to see what we thought might go well with it. Paprika would be a good choice for adding just a little bit more heat. I'm also wondering about thyme.
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Date: 2009-08-20 04:42 pm (UTC)But, yeah, I always follow the recipe the first time, too...
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Date: 2009-08-20 04:44 pm (UTC)I don't believe it would have been necessary to saute the potatoes any less before adding liquid; it was just that they did need to have more wet heat. Did you cover them while they sauteed, or did you leave the pan open? That makes a difference too; I always cover my hash browns!
I note for the record that I did not actually suggest adding wine; I only acceded to your idea. Depending on the sausage you start with, this dish is sufficiently flavorful that the addition of wine or broth is not actually necessary, but at least a little water is.
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Date: 2009-08-20 04:54 pm (UTC)(Srsly, this was me throwing things together 'cos I thought they'd go well together, that's all.)
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Date: 2009-08-20 05:02 pm (UTC)Beet greens are close cousins to chard so they should work well in this too.
I did saute the potatoes covered. They just came out the way the package directions wanted them to. To get mushier potatoes I'd need to add liquid. The reason I suggested sauteing them for less time was that I planned to add all the ingredients in, add the liquid and simmer the whole lot rather longer. This should cook the potatoes to the desired consistency *and* give enough time to spread the salt around, without changing the potatoes to total mush.
(Though sausage and chard and mashed potatoes in a casserole might be interesting too.)
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Date: 2009-08-20 05:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-20 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-20 05:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-20 06:06 pm (UTC)AngelVixen :-)
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Date: 2009-08-20 07:38 pm (UTC)WombatBloom.