Whenever I make this dish, I wonder why we don’t have it more often. It’s so easy and delicious—and clean-up is such a snap—that it really is a perfect weeknight meal. As soon as you walk into the kitchen, turn on the oven. By the time it’s preheated, your pan of ingredients will be ready to cook, leaving you a little over half an hour to unload the dishwasher, make tomorrow’s lunch or just stare off into space with a glass of wine. Serve this as is or with good bread.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 sweet red pepper thinly sliced
- 1 small, scrubbed acorn squash seeded and cut into ¼-inch wedges
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons canola oil divided
- 4 to 6 Italian sausages
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 6 leaves kale roughly torn
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with parchment paper.
2. Put the red pepper, squash, onion and thyme sprigs on the pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the canola oil. Toss well and spread out in a single layer. Nestle the sausages in between the vegetables. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and season with pepper. Roast 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Toss the kale with the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Turn the sausages, then sprinkle torn kale evenly over the pan. Roast another 7 minutes or until the kale wilts and the other vegetables are tender and golden. Serve immediately.