Potato-Apple-Bacon-Sausage Casserole with Irish Butter
Here’s a simple, tasty casserole that starts easily and ends beautifully. Just combine hearty boiled potatoes and sweet slices of apples with sautéed onions and sausages in a skillet coated with Irish butter for a homemade meal that’s comfort in a dish. The exceptionally creamy flavor of rich, Irish butter makes a wonderful base for this rustic, stovetop-to-oven meal, and the topping is perfected with crunchy bacon bits. This homey combination of flavors makes a great entrée or side dish for any meal, any day of the week.
Potato-Apple-Bacon-Sausage Casserole with Irish Butter
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of salt, for boiling potatoes and apples
4 large baking potatoes, peeled, cut in 1-inch cubes
2 large Fuji apples (or red delicious), peeled, cored, and sliced (slice them just before adding to the pot to keep them from darkening)
½ cup salted Irish butter, softened
1 medium onion, sliced
1 and ½ pounds Kielbasa sausages, sliced, about 2 ½ cups
10 slices of bacon
Dash of salt and pepper
1/3 cup chopped scallions, for garnish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Prepare a large skillet that is oven proof by brushing the inside thoroughly with the butter. (If you don’t have a pan that can go into the oven, then divide half of the butter to saute in the pan, and the other half to coat a casserole pan for the oven).
Boil the cubed potatoes in a large pot salted with water. Boil and cook the potatoes for 8 minutes or until slightly tender. Add the apples and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove the potatoes and apples from the stove top, drain, and set aside for later.
Cook the bacon strips in a medium skillet over medium high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until crisp. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. Crumble the bacon to small bits and set aside for topping later.
In the large skillet that has been coated with Irish butter, saute the onions in butter over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until they turn translucent. Add the sausages and cook for about 5 minutes, until the meat turns a rosy, darker hue. Add the drained cubed potatoes and apple slices to this skillet. Mix all the ingredients, making sure the butter coats everything. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the skillet to the oven, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the crumbled bacon all over. Garnish with scallions and serve hot.
Recipe notes: Irish butter (such as Kerrygold) is easy to find in major supermarkets. Unlike American butter, it’s made from milk from grass-fed cows that has been cultured before churning, giving it a creamy and rich flavor. Irish butter can be used for cooking or as a regular spread (and it’s excellent on a hunk of soda bread!)
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Elizabeth Quirino believes that “food brings the world together.” She loves to cook, develop recipes, photograph & write about her culinary adventures on her 2 blogs Asian in America. Outside the kitchen, Elizabeth paints watercolors, reads everything and ends every week with ballroom dancing. For great food stories find her on Facebook and follow Mango_Queen on Twitter.
