Fontina Spinach Sausage Over Parmesan Rice with Drunken Fruit Chutney

A menagerie of sweet and salty with a hint of brandy and earth!

Prep time 5 hours. Hands on 25 minutes* (fab in 40 without the fruit time)

Ingredients:

1 page Trader Joes Fontina Spinach Chicken Sausage 1/2 C dried apricots
1 lemon, sliced thick
1/3 C white onion rough chopped 1 to 1.5 C Brandy
3/4 C milk
1/2 C grated fine parmesan cheese
2 C cooked white rice (can cook with chicken stock) Handful green beans for color/optional
1/2 C Apricot preserves lT yellow mustard
1 t mild and fruity balsamic vinegar Salt and Pepper
Garnish with tarragon leaves if desired

Direction:

• Slice dried fruit and lemon and place in bowl. Cover with brandy and let sit for at least 5 hours.
• Mix preserves, mustard, vinegar and salt and pepper and 1 T of the juice. Set aside. Slice onion and set aside. Cook rice and then add milk and cheese, heat and stir and keep until entree is ready.
• Drain fruit and reserve juice, and slice into small pieces. Chop onion. Heat 2 T olive oil in pan. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes until translucent. Add fruit and 3 T of the brandy juice to the pan, and the lemon sliced. Let sautee 3 minutes. Add the preserves, turn to low and let bubble for 5 minutes. In another pan, cook the sausage. I sliced each link lengthwise and sauted in a bit of olive oil and cooked until browned on both sides which takes about 4 – 6 minutes. Then added the green beans over the top and put a lid on until done. Season with salt and pepper.
• To plate, put a spoonful of rice on the bottom. Cover with the compote/chutney. Place the sausage over it (add beans if you desire), place one cooked lemon over the top as garnish, add chopped fresh tarragon for color!