You can find fully cooked chicken-apple sausage at most groceries and natural food stores; Applegate Farms makes a great link. You can also experiment with the cheese on this dish; a raw-milk Monterey Jack works well, but so could a gruyère, a smoked gouda or any of the Dutch cheeses that melt well. This dish has no additional seasoning; the sausage adds all the necessary salt and usually other herbs and spices as well. From Susan Clotfelter, serves 4.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 package (four links) chicken-apple sausage, sliced into quarter-inch chunks
One to two zucchini, peeled, cut in half, then sliced
One large or two small poblano peppers, stemed, seeded and diced
1/2 pound cheese, cut into chunks
Directions
Oil a large iron skillet with a tablespoon of the olive oil; heat to medium. Sauté the sausage chunks until crispy on both sides; remove to a plate. Add half the remaining oil and sauté the zucchini until soft; return the chicken to the skillet and add the poblanos, stirring with a spatula, until the poblanos are softened, adding the last half-tablespoon of oil if necessary. Add the cheese and immediately remove from the heat and stir. If the cheese hasn’t begun to melt, plate the servings and microwave each for 10-20 seconds on high (you want the cheese chunks still intact, but softened.)
Wine ideas: For such a quick and easy fry-up, you shouldn’t have to think too hard about what to drink – a rich white or a light-to-medium-bodied red will do (as will beer, of course, especially a cold, hoppy IPA like Flying Dog). On chilly nights, reach for a soft, fruity red (the fruit will cushion the spice and match the cheesy richness) like a merlot – Covey Run makes an example in Washington’s Columbia Valley that’s a bargain at $10.
Tara Q. Thomas
