The Challenge: Chinese Sausage
I got a little overzealous at Chelsea Market and created a Purple Sweet Potato Frittata with Fresh Garbanzo Beans, Ramps and Chinese Sausage. Here’s to over-zealousness!
After a recent dinner at the apartment of some friends, S offered up a couple links of Chinese sausage along with a challenge: “See what you can make with this,” he said. S is an accomplished chef so simply cutting up the sausage and serving it with some cheese just wouldn’t do. I thought long and hard on this one. I wanted to come up with something really out of the box but I kept coming back to a simple frittata. And then I went to Chelsea Market.
Chelsea Market, as another friend once described it, is a bit Disneyesque. It’s located on the site of the old National Biscuit Company and is now a post-industrial arcade of food stores, restaurants, weekend musicians and, opening any day now, Anthropologie. I do have a few favorites there — especially the well stocked Manhattan Fruit Exchange (cash only!). I always find something weird and different and I’m always compelled to buy and try. This weekend was no different. After a lovely brunch at Colicchio & Sons, I took a walk on the High Line and headed to the market — the Chinese sausage challenge on my mind.
I thought I’d go with a basic potato frittata with gruyere or fontina but once I got inside the doors to the fruit exchange, I was hit with fresh, seasonal wonders. First off, the elusive purple sweet potato. I’m a fan of any food that’s purple and a sweet potato of any color gets my vote. Since they’re a super food, I thought they’d conteract the relative anti super food aspect of the sausage. Next, I came upon a pile of beautiful green pods I thought might be fava beans. The sign read “Fresh Garbanzo Beans” and, since I thought they only came in cans (!), I decided to grab a few handfuls to add to the richness of the frittata. And then, in an over-the-top move, I laid eyes on fresh ramps and, since I had just enjoyed some on a sunny-side up pizza at Colicchio’s, I couldn’t resist.
Purple Sweet Potatoes, also known Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes or Okinawan potatoes, are native to the Japanese island, Okinawa. They are a member of the morning glory family and are called ‘uala in Hawaiian. Shown here with Chinese sausage and fresh ramps.
Armed with my overzealous stash and 4 ounces of fontina cheese for good measure. I headed home to assemble my mad creation in time to capture the late afternoon light for the photo shoot. I must say I LOVE this frittata. It was completely random but filled with food I love to prepare and eat. And they all paired well with the Chinese sausage — the source of my challenge. If you’re in an area where you can’t find these ingredients (try a Japanese market for the potatoes), you can substitute russet potatoes, canned garbanzo beans and leeks. Thanks, S, for the idea. I’m sorry I didn’t save you any!
Recipe: Purple Sweet Potato Frittata with Chinese Sausage, Fresh Garbanzo Beans and Ramps
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1 lb. purple sweet potato, diced to about 1/4”
2 small links Chinese (or sweet dried) sausage, diced
1/2 cup fresh garbanzo beans, shelled and toasted*
Handful (about 12) fresh ramps, trimmed with white bulbs diced, green parts saved for garnish
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbl. olive oil
5 eggs
4 oz. fontina cheese, grated
Sea salt & pepper
Preparation
Preheat broiler. In an oven proof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add garlic, diced white bulbs of the ramps and potatoes. Stir frequently until potatoes are tender, about 4 minutes. Add sausage, garbanzo beans and salt & pepper. Cook until the potatoes are cooked through — about another 3 - 4 minutes. While potatoes are cooking, whisk eggs with salt and pepper and add fontina. Add to the potato mixture in the skillet and stir until mixed. Cook until the bottom is set — about 2 minutes. Decoratively add ramps to the top of the frittata and move to the broiler. Broil until the top is puffed and lightly browned and the ramps are slightly charred. Serve warm or at room temperature for breakfast or with a salad for lunch or dinner.
*Shell the garbanzo beans an heat 2 tsp. chile oil in a small skillet. Add garbanzo beans and sea salt and stir over high heat about 5 minutes.
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