Catherine Pizzaro Crawford is constantly thinking about nutritious foods as she prepares plant-forward, nutrient-rich dishes for her two baseball-playing boys and husband, Aaron. This civil engineer likes making this very colorful relish to top vegetarian sausage “brats” for Evan, 11, and Ethan, 9, especially during summer when there is ripe produce. She likes to use Beyond Sausages and large hot dog rolls. On the grill, she’ll warm up the sausage, the rolls and a corn on the cob. She cuts the kernels off the cob and combines them with mangoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, lemon juice, minced onion, salt and pepper to make a tasty relish for the “brats.” She sometimes adds avocado, limes and jalapeños,and uses pineapple instead of mangoes for sweetness. Anything goes when you’re creating a rainbow.
Cat Crawford’s Rainbow Brats
Ingredients:
• 4 vegetarian sausages
• 4 large hot dog buns
• 1 cup sliced romaine lettuce
Ingredients for rainbow relish:
• 1 corn on the cob, grilled and kernels sliced off
• 2 small, ripe mangoes, diced
• 3 small cucumbers, diced
• 4 mini red sweet peppers, diced
• 2 tablespoons red onion, minced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Grill corn, sausages and buns on the grill. Cut corn from the cob and mix with mangoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Place one bun on a plate and layer a light bed of lettuce on the bun. Butterfly one sausage lengthwise and place on lettuce, flat side down. Cover with 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of the rainbow relish. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Repeat for the next three. Eat immediately.
Makes 4 “brats.”
Lynette Lo Tom has written three cookbooks and loves hearing about home cooks. Visit lynettecooks.com for more information.
