Ginger Apple Cauliflower Sausage Couscous

[tigertoy]

Here's today's look into the bachelor cooking brain.

The question of what to cook always starts with "what's in the fridge I ought to use up?" This week I actually considered it while I was at the store on Thursday. The principal answers were smoked sausage and cauliflower. A little odd together, but I could make it work. Once I get a couple of ingredients, the next question is, "What goes with that?" Here's where I sometimes feel the urge to get creative, because after 30+ years of my bachelor paneroles there's a certain sameness. (The core tenet of bachelor cuisine is to use as few pans as possible. It all goes in the one big pan, unless pasta is called for. These concoctions might well be called casseroles if they were baked, but a secondary tenet of bachelor cuisine is that the oven is a scary mystery where we don't go. I use my oven as a liquor cabinet. I've tried to figure out what to call this kind of dish for almost as long as I've been cooking without being satisfied with an answer. Today I'm going with "panerole". Who knows what tomorrow will bring?) This week's thoughts were apple; (apple goes well with cauliflower); a bit of carrot (adds a little color, and I have some carrots too); and it's been a while since I've done anything with couscous (a couple of years ago, it occurred to me that always using rice or macaroni as the bulk starch is a little repetitive, so I'd challenge myself to try some other things); and to complete the unusual combination I'd season with ginger (ginger goes with apple, right?)

As always, all amounts are vague or approximate. I hardly ever measure.
6 oz smoked sausage
1/2 head cauliflower
4 baby cut carrots (so about 1 real carrot)
1 large Granny Smith apple
1 box couscous
1 oz onion, chopped fine
oil
butter
ground ginger
salt
big skillet
2 quart saucepan

Break up the cauliflower into little bits, discarding the bigger stem parts. Cut the apple into eights and remove the inner core with the seeds. Chop everything into little bits. I have this slight OCD thing where I want some of everything in every bite, so I cut everything into tiny pieces -- meat, veggies, my fingers if I'm not careful. Put a little water in the saucepan and get it hot, and start steaming the carrots. After a couple minutes, add the cauliflower, throw in some salt, and keep steaming. While doing that, put enough oil in the skillet to cover the bottom generously and heat it. Put in the onions when the oil is hot enough to sizzle and cook until they start to caramelize. Add the sausage and continue to saute on high heat until the sausage just starts to blacken. Add the apple and keep stirring while they start to cook a little. The sausage should be salty enough to not put any more salt in this pan. When the apples are a little softened, put the veggies into that pan, add a teaspoon? of ginger, and keep the heat on until everything gets a little more softened. Make the couscous in the freed up saucepan according to the directions on the box. I tried to be clever and skip the salt because I thought I had too much salt in the other pan; I actually didn't have as much as I thought and the salt balance would have been a lot better had I salted the couscous. Turn down the heat on the skillet when things seem to be getting done. Fluff up the couscous and stir it into the skillet. Makes about 8 (smallish) servings.

Comments

[wyld_dandelyon]

But there are so many fun things you can make in ovens!