I’ve been a huge fan of Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausage for many years. Among the three versions made by Field Roast, Apple Sage has always been my go-to sausage alternative when I want a mild flavor. The Yukon gold potatoes, sage, and ginger balance the sweetness of the apples nicely – but it is a crumbly sausage, making it challenging to slice.
Lately, I’ve become enamored with Tofurky’s line of Artisan Sausages – especially, Chick’n Apple. The sausages are dense enough in texture to be able to be thinly sliced, and while its ingredients are fairly similar to Field Roast’s version, there are enough differences in taste to be be intriguing when combined into a single dish.
Although both sausages have common elements (apple, potatoes, and seitan) and comparable amounts of protein (26 grams per sausage), Field Roast has a slightly grainy texture and a pleasantly pronounced taste of herbs because of the sage. Tofurky’s version uses organic tofu and wheat berries, as well as seitan for protein, and is slightly sweeter . . . but still quite savory. Although you are supposed to be able to grill Field Roast sausages, this hasn’t yielded good results for me because of the need to remove the casing. Instead, I cut or crumble the Field Roast sausages into irregular pieces, and then thinly slice the Tofurky sausages, adding both sausages in the final couple of minutes of cooking.
Combined into a single pasta dish, they make a quick and easy protein-packed weeknight supper, along with end of the summer Vidalia onions, red and yellow sweet bell peppers, and fresh basil. I sampled it before adding the chèvre, and it was absolutely delicious – but if you feel like gilding the lily and don’t mind dairy, adding a little chèvre goes a long way to making this dish memorable.
Torchiette may be an unfamiliar pasta. Its name means “little torches” and it is a lovely, delicate twisted pasta whose turns and groves catch the sauce. Earth Fare makes a wonderful organic torchiette, but if you can’t find torchiette, use cavatappi or fusilli.
And, please let me know what you think of the combination of the two sausages. My carnivores thought this was a home run!
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large organic Vidalia onion, chopped
- 1 large organic red pepper, diced
- 1 large organic yellow pepper, diced
- ¼ cup white wine
- ½ cup organic vegetable stock
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tofurky Chick'n & Apple sausages, very thinly sliced (1/2 package)
- 2 Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausages, quartered and crumbled (1/2 package)
- 1 lb torchiette (Earth Fare organic)
- ½ lemon, zested and juiced
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- 4 ounces chèvre (optional)
- Heat a large skillet and add the olive oil.
- Sauté the onion for 5-6 minutes until translucent.
- Add the diced peppers and sauté for another 5 minutes while you get a large pot of pasta water boiling.
- Turn the heat under the skillet a little higher and add the white wine, letting the pepper and onions simmer and absorb the flavor of the wine until the wine is mostly evaporated. Add the vegetable stock, a little sea salt and pepper, cover, and turn down the heat to low.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of salt to the pasta water, and cook the torchiette for about 7 minutes. when the torchiette is al dente, reserve a cup of pasta water, and drain the torchiette into a colander.
- Add the two types of sausage to the pepper and onion mixture, as well as the lemon zest and juice.
- Add the drained torchiette and toss, adding some of the reserved pasta water a little at a time to get the consistency you like. (I generally use about half a cup.)
- Add the finely torn basil leaves, and the optional chèvre (if you don't want this to be vegan).
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