Chorizo-Kale-Barley Sauté with Cannellini Beans

(Also called, I Can't Name a Dish For My Life.)

First off: I'd like to thank everyone for their lovely birthday wishes. :)

Second: for those commenting that my cake looked silver - I promise, it was just the pretty lighting. ;)

Third: look, I made dinner!

The idea of this dish is that you throw some fresh chorizo in a screaming-hot pan, and render the fatty goodness, then throw in some sun-dried tomatoes and let them reconstitute in the fat, and then cook everything else in it too.

This might not be an epically healthful meal, but damn it if it isn't amazing. And there's so much kale!

I had some free-range buffalo chorizo from the farmer's market in the freezer, but feel free to use whatever kind of spicy sausage you like. Even Italian would be wonderful. :)

Chorizo-Kale-Barley Sauté with Cannellini Beans

(Recipe by Mo)

~ 3/4 lb chorizo or Andouille sausage (I had 10 oz, which was 3 sausages)

8 sun-dried tomato halves (preserved with salt), soaked in some warm water if they're a little tough and chopped roughly

~5 good-sized cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Pinch asafoetida (optional)

About 5-6 "stalks" worth of kale, thinly sliced

1/2 cup whole barley, cooked in lightly salted water

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained

Heat a large pan (I used nonstick so it had to be on low and heated for a long time; with stainless steel I'd heat it on medium).

Dice the sausage (or take them out of their casings and crumble). 

When the pan is very, very hot, toss the sausage in and cook. If the pan is hot enough, the sausage should immediately begin releasing its fat. Add the tomatoes and let them absorb some of the fat. Then add the garlic and asafoetida, sauté a bit, and add the kale, barley and cannellini beans. Let it all cook together, absorbing the flavors of the chorizo. If you'd like it to be more spicy, season with some crushed red pepper.

The verdict: I knew I was a genius, but...

Nah, I kid, but this is fantastic. It's so warm, spicy and hearty, and just pure deliciousness. I have nothing more to say, honestly, except that this is a perfect chilly-weather dish. Oh, and chorizo-infused sun-dried tomatoes are the bomb-diggity. 

Oh, and for those of you who don't eat meat - I'm sure that this would work well with vegetarian/vegan sausages, but you'd need to add oil to pan because there's no way any of the fat in the "sausages" would seep out to let you sauté in it, and you'd need to adjust for the seasonings (paprika, red pepper flakes, pepper, salt; stuff like that). It'd be less simple, but I'm sure you could figure something out. :)