Recipe of the Week
Harvest Sweet Potato & Smoked Sausage Skillet
4 to 6
Mid-October on the homestead means the sweet potatoes are finally cured and the first cool evenings call for something that cooks in one pan. This skillet leans on everything coming out of the Zone 8a garden right now — sweet potatoes, a late onion, a crisp apple off the tree — browned alongside smoky sausage and finished with fresh sage. It’s the kind of supper that fills the kitchen with that caramel-and-woodsmoke smell and leaves you only one pan to wash.
Ingredients
- 1 lb smoked sausage (kielbasa or andouille), sliced into 1/2-inch coins
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1.5 lbs), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into thin wedges
- 1 firm sweet-tart apple, cored and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 to 10 fresh sage leaves, roughly torn
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 big handfuls baby kale or chopped collard greens (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add the sausage coins and brown them well on both sides, about 5 minutes. Scoop them out and set aside, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
- Add the sweet potato cubes to the hot skillet in a single layer. Let them sit undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes so they caramelize, then stir and continue cooking 8 to 10 minutes until a fork slides in with just a little resistance.
- Push the potatoes to one side and add the butter, onion wedges, and apple chunks. Cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion softens and the apple edges turn golden.
- Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Return the sausage to the pan, drizzle with the maple syrup, and scatter in the torn sage. Toss everything together and cook 2 to 3 minutes more to glaze.
- If using greens, fold them in at the very end and cook just until wilted, about 1 minute. Taste, add a pinch more salt if needed, and serve straight from the skillet while it’s hot.