America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

30-Minute Arugula Salad with Sausage and White Beans

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on June 25, 2009

Yield

Serves 4

30-Minute Arugula Salad with Sausage and White Beans

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil 1 pound chicken sausage or turkey sausage (see note)½ cup water 1 recipe Bistro-Style Mustard Vinaigrette (see recipe)1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed1 red onion, sliced thin1 (8-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and sliced ½ inch thick½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped coarse7 ounces arugula, bagged (10 cups)

Before You Begin

Most supermarkets carry several brands and flavors of cooked chicken and turkey sausage (don’t use pork sausage here—it’s too fatty). Choose a sausage with flavors that will complement the salad, such as garlic or sun-dried tomato. If using raw poultry sausage, extend the covered cooking time by about five minutes.

Instructions

    making the minutes count

  1. Prepare the vinaigrette while the sausage cooks.
  2. cook sausage and prepare vinaigrette

  3. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown sausage on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn sausage over, add water, and cover. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until sausage is heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. (While sausage cooks, make vinaigrette.) Transfer sausage to carving board. Pour off remaining water in skillet and wipe dry with paper towels.
  4. prepare bean mixture

  5. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. Add beans and onion and cook until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add peppers, olives, and ¾ cup of vinaigrette, bring to brief simmer, then remove from heat.
  6. dress and assemble salad

  7. Toss arugula with warm bean mixture, and divide among individual plates. Slice sausage thin on bias, and arrange over salads. Spoon remaining 1/4 cup vinaigrette over sausage, or pass separately.
30-Minute Arugula Salad with Sausage and White Beans

30-Minute Arugula Salad with Sausage and White Beans

Headshot of America's Test Kitchen
By America's Test Kitchen
Save

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound chicken sausage or turkey sausage (see note)
½ cup water
1 recipe Bistro-Style Mustard Vinaigrette (see recipe)
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 (8-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and sliced ½ inch thick
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped coarse
7 ounces arugula, bagged (10 cups)

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound chicken sausage or turkey sausage (see note)
½ cup water
1 recipe Bistro-Style Mustard Vinaigrette (see recipe)
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 (8-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and sliced ½ inch thick
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped coarse
7 ounces arugula, bagged (10 cups)

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound chicken sausage or turkey sausage (see note)
½ cup water
1 recipe Bistro-Style Mustard Vinaigrette (see recipe)
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 (8-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and sliced ½ inch thick
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped coarse
7 ounces arugula, bagged (10 cups)

Why This Recipe Works

For our arugula, sausage, and white bean salad recipe, we liked precooked chicken or turkey sausage, which was less greasy than pork sausage. Simply browned, the sausage turned out tough; we found it best to add a splash of water to the skillet once the sausage was browned and simmer it for a few minutes to ensure that it was tender. Chubby cannellini beans were too mild on their own so we decided to sauté them with a bit of red onion, sweet roasted peppers (jarred), and briny kalamata olives, all of which went far in perking up the flat-flavored beans. To further boost the flavor of our arugula, sausage, and white bean salad, we decided to simmer the mix with a bit of the dressing—a simple mustard-based vinaigrette, which the beans readily absorbed.

Before You Begin

Most supermarkets carry several brands and flavors of cooked chicken and turkey sausage (don’t use pork sausage here—it’s too fatty). Choose a sausage with flavors that will complement the salad, such as garlic or sun-dried tomato. If using raw poultry sausage, extend the covered cooking time by about five minutes.

Instructions

    making the minutes count

  1. Prepare the vinaigrette while the sausage cooks.
  2. cook sausage and prepare vinaigrette

  3. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown sausage on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn sausage over, add water, and cover. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until sausage is heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. (While sausage cooks, make vinaigrette.) Transfer sausage to carving board. Pour off remaining water in skillet and wipe dry with paper towels.
  4. prepare bean mixture

  5. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. Add beans and onion and cook until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add peppers, olives, and ¾ cup of vinaigrette, bring to brief simmer, then remove from heat.
  6. dress and assemble salad

  7. Toss arugula with warm bean mixture, and divide among individual plates. Slice sausage thin on bias, and arrange over salads. Spoon remaining 1/4 cup vinaigrette over sausage, or pass separately.

Gift This Recipe

Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.

This is a members' feature.