Italian Sausage with Fennel, Artichokes, Kale, and Red Cabbage

Ingredients

• 10 ounces loose mild Italian sausage
• 1 red onion
• 1 fennel bulb
• Peeled fresh garlic
• 1 bunch kale
• ½ teaspoon Aleppo chile flakes (optional)
• 6 ounces red cabbage
• ½ cup marinated artichoke hearts
• ¼ cup Kalamata olives
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Instructions

Brown the sausage
1. Drain the sausage on paper towels.
2. In a large pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon oil until hot but not smoking. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally to break up any lumps, until well browned but not yet cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper-towel-lined plate; do not clean the pan.
3. While the sausage cooks, prepare the vegetables.
Prep the vegetables
4. Peel and thinly slice the red onion.
5. Cut the fennel in half, cut away the stalks and core, and cut the bulb lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices.
6. Finely chop, press, or grate enough garlic to measure 1 teaspoon.
7. Strip the kale leaves from their stems; coarsely chop the leaves.
Cook the vegetables
8. To the same pan used for the sausage, add the onion, fennel, garlic, and as much Aleppo chile as you like. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables starting to caramelize and soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan with the kale and ¼ cup water. Season with salt; cook, stirring once or twice, until the kale starts to wilt and the sausage is cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes.
9. While the vegetables cook, prepare the remaining ingredients.
Prep the last ingredients; finish the dish
10. Core and thinly slice the red cabbage.
11. Coarsely chop the artichoke hearts and olives.
12. When the kale is wilted, add the cabbage, artichokes, olives, and vinegar to the hot pan; toss to combine. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.