So, it’s Saturday. Not Friday, when this post was supposed to go up. And I have no excuse really. I just suck. But let’s not focus on that right now, let’s focus on this tart, pie thing.

Pie. This was Sausage Pie. And it was glorious.

I’m using the past tense here, because that beautiful thang is long since gone, and I may or may not be still mourning it’s end. The lovely smell of sausage filled my kitchen for the better part of a day and it was heaven. Heaven, I tell you.

I can not take full credit for the ideas, I found both recipes at different times on Food52. But then I had the "genius" (um, common sense) idea to put them together. So la di da. I adapted lightly here and there to adjust for what I had on hand. Most especially there is a lot more sausage in here than the original recipe which I like to think is an improvement. I carnivore, therefore, I am. I am also not the type of person who typically has wine on hand for throwing into recipes. Do you think of me differently now? Chicken stock (from da freezer!) sufficed.

What is actually genius is the vision to smash leftover rice into a crust for a flawless gluten free alternative to tart dough. So thanks for that, Food52. Writing about this makes me want to make it all over again. Next time, I’d go all out and use hot italian sausage instead. Nice and sassy like.

Kale & Sausage Dinner Tart with Cheesy Rice Crust

Ingredients:

Crust:

lightly adapted from this recipe at Food52

1 ½ cups cooked rice

¼ cup shredded parmesan

¼ cup white cheddar

1 egg white

salt and pepper to taste

Tart filling:

lightly adapted from this recipe at Food52

1 pound sweet italian sausage

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch kale, cut into 1 inch pieces

¼ cup chicken stock

¼ cup ricotta

2 eggs beaten

salt and pepper to taste

shredded parmesan for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, mix together rice, cheeses, egg white, and salt & pepper until well combined. Mixture should be sticky enough to hold together if you squeeze it lightly in hands.

Press mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie pan. Par bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Lower heat to 400 degrees.

Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside in a large mixing bowl. In the fat from the sausage, add onion to the pan and saute until translucent and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic to pan and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add kale to pan and cook until wilted, 5 to 10 minutes. Add chicken stock to pan and cook until reduced just slightly, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you go. Remove from heat and add to bowl with sausage. Stir to combine. Allow to cool slightly.

Once cooled, about 5 minutes, add ricotta, eggs, and salt & pepper. Stir to combine well and then pour into prepared crust. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle top with shredded parmesan if desired.

Bake in oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until crust has browned a bit on the edges.

Once removed from oven, leave to cool a bit and set.

Serves 8