These colorful sausages combine brightly colored orange sweet potatoes with deep red beans. The seasoning is mild, and they make a great side dish with grilled meats and poultry, too.
3/4 pound sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 scallions, white parts and 3 inches of green tops, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 large eggs
2 garlic cloves, peeled
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Cover sweet potatoes with salted water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook potatoes for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain potatoes, and when cool enough to handle, peel potatoes and place them in a mixing bowl.
2. Add scallions, parsley, and sage to the bowl, and mash potatoes with a potato masher until smooth.
3. Combine beans, eggs, garlic, salt, and pepper in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until the mixture forms a smooth paste, scraping the sides of the work bowl as necessary. Add mixture to the mixing bowl, and mix well. Cook 1 tablespoon of mixture on a microwave-safe dish for 30 seconds, covered with plastic wrap. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
4. Place a 12 x 12-inch sheet of plastic wrap on the counter in front of you. Place 1/6 of fish mixture in a line 6 inches long that begins 2 inches from the bottom edge of the plastic wrap. Roll up plastic wrap and squeeze seafood mixture to form a cylinder. Twist ends of plastic wrap tightly, and tie shut with kitchen string. Wrap entire sausage in a second sheet of plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining fish mixture to form a total of 6 sausages.
5. To poach sausages, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add sausages, reduce the heat to medium-low, and maintain water at a bare simmer of 180°F; attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan or take the temperature of the water frequently with an instant-read thermometer. Cook sausages for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm. Remove one sausage to a plate with tongs and insert an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature is 155°F, sausages are done. If not, return to the pot and continue cooking. Remove sausages from the pan with tongs, and allow sausages to sit for 5 minutes. Then cut off plastic wrap, and serve immediately, or cool to room temperature still in the plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Note: Sausages can be refrigerated up to a day; they should not be frozen. Once cooked, they can be refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat them by lowering them into simmering water for 5 minutes, or in a microwave oven at 45-second intervals on Medium (50 percent power) until hot.