Sausage and Spinach Pasta
20 min
Ready in 20 minutes and the kids never complain. Creamy sour cream sauce, spinach, and golden sausage slices — proper weeknight comfort food.
pastaporkcreamy
Quick weeknight dinner that punches above its weight. The colcannon — mashed potatoes stirred through with blanched kale — makes it something special.
Instructions
- 1
Cut the smoked pork loin into four even slices and season them with pepper. Melt the margarine in a hot frying pan and brown the slices well on both sides. Lower the heat and keep cooking until clear juices start to seep out. Let the slices rest a few minutes before serving.
- 2
Peel the potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces. Boil until completely tender in unsalted water, then drain and let them steam dry.
- 3
Mash the potatoes and stir in the butter. Add the milk a little at a time until the mash is light and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.
- 4
Remove the toughest stalks from the kale, then blanch the leaves in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Cool them in cold water and squeeze out as much water as you can. Press the kale into a ball and chop it into smaller pieces with a sharp knife.
- 5
Stir the kale into the mashed potatoes and heat everything through.
- 6
Cook the broccolini or broccoli florets in lightly salted water for about 2 minutes, then drain.
Per average serving
892
Calories
kcal
61.9
Protein
g
53.3
Carbs
g
48.1
Fat
g
8.9g
Fiber
6.9g
Sugar
2563mg
Sodium
Family Portions
2portions
Adults
2
Children
No children added
Ingredients
Per average serving
892
Calories
kcal
61.9
Protein
g
53.3
Carbs
g
48.1
Fat
g
8.9g
Fiber
6.9g
Sugar
2563mg
Sodium
Tips from the kitchen
- The pork is already smoked, so you're really just heating it through and getting color on it. Once clear juices start to seep out, pull it. Push it past that and the slices go dry and chewy.
- Go for floury potatoes here, not waxy ones. After draining, let them sit in the empty pot for a minute to steam off, then mash. Wetter potatoes make for a gluey mash.
- Squeeze the blanched kale hard before chopping. Press it into a tight ball and wring out every bit of water you can, otherwise it bleeds into the mash and you get a soggy green mess instead of flecks.
- Add the milk a little at a time, not all at once. Floury potatoes drink different amounts depending on the batch, and you can always add more but you can't take it back out.
- Let the pork rest a few minutes off the heat before plating. The slices firm up and hold onto their juices instead of running all over the plate.
Ways to vary it
- If you have a leek hanging around, soften a handful of slices in butter and fold them into the colcannon along with the kale. That's the more traditional version.
- Swap the broccolini for green beans or savoy cabbage if that's what's in the fridge. Both take about the same couple of minutes in salted water.
- A spoon of grainy mustard stirred into the pan after the pork comes out makes a quick little sauce. Optional, but nice spooned over the mash.
Storage & leftovers
Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to three days, mash and pork in separate containers if you can. The colcannon freezes fine for a month or so, though the texture loosens a bit on thawing. Reheat the mash gently in a pot with a splash of milk, and warm the pork slices in a covered pan over low heat so they don't dry out.
What to serve with it
A spoon of grainy or Dijon mustard on the side suits the smoked pork well. A glass of cider or a dark beer rounds it out if you fancy.
UC
By Untrained ChefPublished 19 April 2026 · Updated 11 July 2026
Related Recipes
Pork Tenderloin with Parmesan and Garlic Sauce
1 hr
Juicy pork in a creamy parmesan garlic sauce — proper weeknight comfort food that feels a bit special.
porkcreamydinner
Pork Chops with Red Onion Marmalade
20 min
Ready in 20 minutes and way more interesting than plain pork chops. The red onion marmalade is sweet, tangy, and a little caramelized — it makes the whole plate.
porkdinnerquick