We made a tasty Kale and Kielbasa Skillet to go with a bottle of Morgon Cru du Beaujolais. Disclosure: The wine was sent as a complimentary sample as part of our French #Winophiles exploration of Beaujolais wines.
So I had one more bottle of Beaujolais to open following our November French #Winophiles event exploring food-friend red wines from Beaujolais. This was the Morgon, a Beaujolais appellation that I’ve really enjoyed in the past. I set that aside so that I’d have a chance to cook up a new recipe to go with this wine.
I have had an unopened kielbasa in the fridge for a few weeks. Fiona Beckett mentions garlicky sausage as a good pairing for Morgon and other “more full bodied Beaujolais”, so a kielbasa recipe seemed to be in order.
How to cook the kielbasa to pair with the Morgon? You won’t find many kielbasa recipes on Cooking Chat. That’s because our go to way to serve kielbasa is to grill it in the summer time and serve it as an appetizer along with an assortment of mustards. Grilled kielbasa has been a favorite at family gatherings long before I started cooking.
Kielbasa is simply the Polish term for sausage. In the US, kielbasa is the term given to a garlicky smoked sausage, typically sold precooked.
Garlicky sausage goes great with greens, so I landed on making a kale and kielbasa skillet to go with our Morgon. I certainly enjoy the combination of kale and sausage, as in this Rigatoni with Kale and Sausage recipe.
Speaking of pasta, we served our kielbasa skillet with a simple baked macaroni and cheese to round out our hearty meal.
Wine Pairing for Kale and Kielbasa Skillet
So there’s no mystery about the wine we picked for the kielbasa skillet, as the recipe was made to go with the 2015 Domaines Piron Côte de Py Morgon (13.5 % ABV) The nose reminded me of shrubs on a warm summer day, a welcome scent in November. Raspberry fruit taste with peppery notes, a bit tight at first but opened up nicely and showed a long finish. I served this right from the cellar, but in retrospect would recommend serving with a slight chill as I do with other Beaujolais. Definitely a good quality wine and nice match for the kale and kielbasa skillet.
Morgon is one of ten Beaujolais crus villages. Wine from Morgon tend to be more full-bodied than other Beaujolais. As noted on the Discover Beaujolais site, the soils of Morgon are rich in iron oxide with traces of manganese and volcanic rock. Domaines Piron has a history of producing wines in the region that goes back to 1590, a timescale that is hard for someone in the US to comprehend! Clearly they have passed on a lot of fine wine making traditions over time.
Thanks to Lynn from Savor the Harvest for putting together our #Winophiles exploration of Beaujolais. Her post has a good introduction to the region with links to participating bloggers.
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Kale and Kielbasa Skillet
Kale braises with onions and peppers, then gets tossed with kielbasa sausage for a hearty entree.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 10 ozs kielbasa sausage
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 yellow pepper, chopped
- 2 garlic, minced
- 1 bunch kale, thick stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ¼ tsp fennel powder
- Salt to taste
- pinch red pepper flakes
- Canola oil spray
Instructions
- Coat a large skillet with the canola oil spray. Heat the skillet on medium high. Add the kielbasa, and cook for about 10 minutes until browned, turning occasionally. Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside to cool.
- Add the tablespoon olive oil to the skillet, heat on medium. Add the onion, cook for 5 minutes until it begin to soften. Stir in the yellow pepper and garlic, cook for a few more minutes.
- Add the kale to the skillet, stirring in gradually to make it fit. Add the chicken stock, fennel powder, salt to taste and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer on medium low for about 20 minutes.
- As the kale simmers, slice the kielbasa into circles about ½ inch thick. After the kale has simmered for 20 minutes, stir in the kielbasa. Cook for 5 more minutes, covered, so the kielbasa gets warm and the flavor is incorporated.
Lynn
Well I love Kielbasa and kale thus am smitten with your dish David! The deep, savory flavor of kielbasa speaks to my soul, especially in cooler weather. Nice pairing- the Piron Côté du Py was a favorite of mine. Merci for the plug ;-D
★★★★★
Helena
Fantastic dish. One of a kind I should say, particularly because it goes with this type of wine very well. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
Cooking Chat
Thanks for stopping by, Helena!
Wendy Klik
I really enjoyed this bottle as well David. I usually fry up my kielbasa with mushrooms and onions but I’m certainly going to keep this recipe in mind when I have kale in the refrigerator.
Lauren Walsh
I’m so hungry now, after reading this post! It’s snowing here in NYC – quite a bit, actually – and your dish would be the perfect comfort food for tonight’s dinner. Now let’s see if I can motivate myself to leave the apartment . . .
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★★★★★