I found an artisanal kielbasa sausage at the Super Duper market. Quelle surprise! Kielbasa seems to be popular in our area, however the sausages available are usually produced in large, name brand factories with God knows what profit maximizing ingredients. I grabbed two packages of the artisanal sausages for the freezer and future meals.
The coarse grind of the meat, fat and the little dots of pepper was reassuring. I should have bought all the packages because there is no guarantee that I’ll find these again.
If it ever stops snowing and warms up, it will be nice and inspirational to have a greater selection of bright, colorful, seasonal vegetables and fruits.
Still, you can’t keep a good bowl of beans down 🙂
Navy Beans with Kielbasa
1 lb dried navy beans
1 large chunk of cooked, smoked ham or 1 large ham hock
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp piment d’espelette
2 bay leaves
1 “loop” of kielbasa, sliced
2 handfuls of baby spinach
Soak the beans overnight in a pot with water about 2 inches above the beans. The next day, place the ham or ham hock in the pot with the beans.
Saute the onion, garlic and bell peppers in the olive oil until the onions are soft, then add to the bean pot, along with the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, black pepper, piment d’espelette and bay leaves. Bring the pot to a boil and then simmer for 1 hour.
Remove the ham from the pot, cut into medium dice, then put back in the pot with the kielbasa slices. Continue to simmer for about 25 minutes. Stir in the spinach and allow to just wilt.
They look very good, as does your dish – perfect for cold weather. I’m inclined to think you must have a lot of Polish people in your area, as kielbasa is the Polish word for sausage.
Polish and Germans. It was nice to see the locally made sausages.
They look like very good ones .
I used to get kielbasa often in Los Angeles.
It’s a nice sausage.
Ooh lovely….our kind of meal! Need to make something similar with our chorizo ☺
I thought of chorizo 😉
It is nice that you are starting to find products that you like. Your beans and sausages look good and perfect for the “balmy spring weather”. Hope it warms up and stays that way for you soon.
Thank you Karen. I guess I’m just taking what I can get 🙂
What your discriminating taste, I doubt that…you are just finding the good sources I think.