From holiday dinners to first-day-of-school breakfasts — and all the little moments in between — we’re proud to be a part of your family traditions. Try Neese’s and you’ll see why we’ve been the sausage of choice for more than a century.
Yield: 4 servings.
Yogurt Sauce:
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Tahini Sauce:
¼ cup tahini paste
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup water, plus more as needed
Rice Bowl:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound Neese’s Country Sausage
¼ yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
2 medium cucumbers, diced into half-moons
½ cup cooked chickpeas
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Kosher salt to taste
2 cups medium or long grain white rice, cooked
For the yogurt sauce, stir together the yogurt, mint, olive oil, lemon, and salt until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Place the tahini paste in a bowl. Use a micro-plane grater or garlic press to crush the garlic cloves, make a paste, and add it to the bowl. Then add the lemon juice, salt, and water and whisk until smooth. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is as smooth as desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.
In a medium-sized sauté pan or skillet, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage. Break up the sausage as it cooks, and season with salt. Once cooked through, turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the onions, cilantro, and parsley, and then stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the cucumber, chickpeas, remaining olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
To build a rice bowl, place about ½ cup of cooked rice in the bottom. Arrange the sausage mixture on one side and the cucumber salad on the other. Drizzle with yogurt and tahini sauce and serve.
Why does this Haywood County town have some of the cleanest water in the state? It’s the result of the community’s efforts to keep the forests in its watershed pristine.
The spectacular views in North Carolina’s High Country aren’t just inspiration for writers, painters, and sculptors. Those landscapes — the rugged gray face of Grandfather Mountain, the vibrant fall leaves, the deep green meadows — are brushstrokes on Earth’s own canvas.
The sprawling vineyards and wide-open skies that stretch for miles across seven North Carolina counties offer relaxing getaways — not to mention some of the state’s finest wines — for Sunday drivers aching to escape the rush of city life.
Nothing lasts forever — and that’s what makes many of our cherished moments so special.
