One-Pot Sausage and Veggie Rice by Erica

I don’t know about you, but I find it easy to get stuck in a rut with weeknight dinners. I have a list of good old standby meals that I make again and again, which is great because when you’re tired after a busy day, it’s nice to go on auto-pilot. But sometimes this leads to making the same few recipes all the time.

 
 

It may seem counterintuitive, but a plain pot of rice makes it simple to come up with a variety of new dishes. It’s like a blank canvas: you can so easily meld it with the flavors of different cuisines.

For this one-pot meal, I decided to go for a Spanish/Mediterranean vibe. It doesn’t necessarily follow the ingredients of one specific country or region; I simply chose ingredients that I personally love and thought would go well together. And they certainly do!

 
 

In the spirit of keeping things simple, this recipe only calls for 10 ingredients. One in particular may be new to you, but it’s definitely worth seeking out and trying.

 
 

If you’ve never prepared fresh fennel before, it can be a bit daunting. Let me break it down for you!

 
 

You want to chop off the long stems and discard. Then, pull off any discolored outer sections.

 
 

Next, slice the fennel in half lengthwise.

 
 

Slice out the core.

 
 

Finally, cut the bulb into thin slices.

 
 

That wasn’t so difficult, now was it?

Let’s get on with the rest of the dish.

 
 

In a large Dutch oven, brown the sausage. I decided to get all cute and roll the sausage into balls before cooking it. Totally not necessary if you’re pressed for time, but it’s great for presentation.

 
 

Remove the sausage, add some avocado oil, and plop in the onion and fennel. Saute until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

 
 

Add the mushrooms and cook until everything is nice and soft, about 8 minutes. You can cover the pot if you want to speed up the cooking time.

 
 

Once all the veggies are nice and tender, pour in the chicken broth, salt, and rice. Give it a good stir. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

 
 

Stir in the arugula and cherry tomatoes, cover, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

 
 

Stir in the sausage and you’re done!

 
 

I like to serve this with butter (duh!). You can take this in a Greek direction and serve it with feta cheese, or go the Italian direction with Parmesan. Both are delicious!

 
 

Notes:

• You can substitute link sausages if you prefer. I purchased some pre-cooked Italian sausages, browned them, and sliced them up. They were delicious, but they ended up looking like hotdogs—not exactly the presentation I was going for!
• You can also substitute different veggies if you don’t care for any of these or can’t locate them. For example, use baby kale or spinach (or any quick-cooking green) in place of the arugula, peppers in place of the tomatoes, zucchini in place of the mushrooms, etc. Make it your own!
• The fennel in this dish is a subtle flavor. You can double the amount if you want it more in-your-face. I like to choose an Italian sausage that contains fennel seeds to echo that flavor.

 
 

Have you cooked with fresh fennel before? What other not-so-common veggies would you like to try?