By building this stew one ingredient at a time—in a manner not unlike that of making soup—the process is streamlined and nearly everything is browned. This makes the flavors so much more complex that the stew needs no stock to finish it off. (Should you have some stock on hand, however, by all means use it.) To make this stew even tastier, use a mixture of mushrooms or add a few reconstituted dried porcini and use their soaking liquid to replace some of the water.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

　　1 pound Italian sausage, sweet or hot, cut into 1-inch or smaller pieces

　　1 pound kale, leaves stripped from stems

　　1/2 pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

　　1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic

　　1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　2 cups stock or water

　　

Step 1

Put the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or casserole over medium high heat; a minute later, add the sausage and cook without stirring until the sausage browns well on one side, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the stems of the kale into about 1/2-inch lengths and shred the leaves.

　　

Step 2

Stir the sausage and let it brown a bit more. Remove it with a slotted spoon (don’t worry if it isn’t cooked through). Cook the mushrooms in the remaining fat with the heat still on medium-high, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

　　

Step 3

Add the kale stems and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic, hot pepper, kale leaves, salt, and pepper; stir and cook for about 1 minute. Return the sausage to the pan and add the stock or water. Raise the heat to high and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste and ladle into bowls, topping with the reserved mushrooms.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.