For a Simple Supper – Argentine Sausage with Zucchini and Bulgur Wheat
Written by Rachel, Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Grains, Main Dishes, Meat, Pork, Thoughts, Vegetables
I really love to menu plan. But that doesn’t mean that things always go the way I have intended. Sometimes it means grilled cheese or some sort of re-heated leftovers from the freezer. But, occasionally inspiration hits and a new meal is concocted.
This is such a meal.
We tried this Argentine sausage a while ago. I absolutely love it. It may be my new favorite. I don’t know why I had never tried it before. I didn’t know what I was missing. Now I do. We had a lot of zucchini in the fridge. It needed to be eaten. Perfect, because I wanted to eat it. And then we had bulgur wheat in the pantry. I bought it aaaaaages ago, thinking I would do something with it and never did. I was going to use rice in this meal, but why not switch it up?!
It comes together in a snap. Yeah, the bulgur wheat takes a while to cook, just like rice. But it’s not really that long. Pop it on the stove and then work on the rest. They’ll probably be done closer to the same time than you may have expected.
If you have other veggies that you want to use, I think that’s a good idea. If you have Italian sausage instead of Argentine, please use it! The basics of this dish are that it’s a grain, with some veggies, nuts, a bit of cheese, some fresh herbs, and some excellent olive oil.
If you don’t have something in this recipe on hand – here are some other ideas that could work well:
Italian sausage, red pepper flakes, chopped rosemary, lemon zest, broccoli, and bulgur wheat or rice.
German sausage, onions, dijon mustard, parsley, dill, and bulgur wheat or rice.
Italian sausage, kale, onions, bell peppers, red pepper flakes, thyme, bulgur wheat or rice, with a drizzle of cream when you serve.
So many ways you could transform this simple dish.
- 1 C bulgur wheat
- 2 C vegetable stock (water or chicken stock are fine too)
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 Argentine sausages, cut into rounds
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 1/2 t red pepper flakes
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 T fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 T fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped, for topping
- parmesan cheese, grated, for topping
- 1/4 C walnuts, chopped, for topping
- olive oil, for drizzling
- Cook wheat (similar to cooking rice): Add stock and wheat to a medium pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30-45 minutes.
- Heat skillet, add oil. When oil is hot, add sausage and zucchini (if using fully cooked sausage – if not, cook sausage until it’s almost done and then add zucchini). Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Add seasonings, lemon juice, and garlic to skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add wheat and herbs. Stir and cook 1-2 minutes.
- Serve topped with tomato, walnuts, parmesan cheese, and a drizzle of excellent olive oil.
