Sausage, Peppers, and Onions Recipe © 2016 Fred Bollaci
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes Yield: Serves 4
I like to use different colored bell peppers, which make for a more colorful presentation. I also like a a combination of sweet and hot sausages, but if you want a milder dish, use only the sweet sausages and reduce the amount of chili pepper flakes in the recipe. Another bit of advice: I like to buy my sausages from a good Italian market or butcher, the quality and flavor are better! (Likewise if you want it hotter, use hot sausages and/or increase the amount of chili pepper flakes.) You can also add some fresh chili peppers, habaneros, or Scotch bonnets, but do so sparingly because they will make it really hot really fast! Be sure to inquire of your guests whether they like the food spicy or not (you can always sauté some hot peppers separately, or add chili flakes at the table if you have some who like it hot, and some who don’t. Also, when working with hot peppers, do NOT touch your face or eyes!)
Ingredients:
4 Italian sausage links (sweet, hot, or a couple of each)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 each: green, red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, sliced into 2 to 3 inch long strips
4 garlic cloves (I suggest leaving them whole or cutting each into several smaller pieces so they can be enjoyed (or removed) and not overpower the dish with garlic)
1 large sweet or yellow onion, sliced into 1/4-inch half-moon shaped slices
1 25 ounce can of San Marzano peeled tomatoes from Italy (crush by hand, remove the remaining part where the stem was attached, add the juices, rinse can out with a little water, which you may add if it appears to be getting too thick after simmering)
1 cup fresh basil leaves, fresh Italian parsley (to garnish)
1/2 cup red wine and 1/2 cup white wine (you may use 1 cup of either, or to give this dish a Sicilian kick, try using Marsala for this step)
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Note: this can be served with pasta (3-4 ounces per person, cooked al dente, and combined when pasta is done, on fresh Italian bread, over polenta, or just as it is! It makes an easy, excellent, inexpensive Italian-American dish for a summertime pot luck! You can easily serve more people by simply increasing the number of sausages, the amount of peppers can remain the same for at least 8-10 sausages before adding more. Either serve the sausage links whole or you may cut them up and combine with the peppers, which is the easiest way for serving at a potluck or as one of many dishes.
Directions:
1 Brown the sausages: Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan that has a lid. When the oil is hot, add the sausages and brown them slowly. If they sizzle and crackle too much, turn the heat down. You don’t want them to burn, you want them golden brown.
Cook for several minutes, turning them occasionally so they brown on all sides. When the sausages are browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
2 Sauté the onions and garlic: Increase the heat to medium-high and add the onions and garlic. Add a little salt to help the onions sweat. Toss so they get coated with the oil in the pan and sear them, stirring every so often. You want them to sweat and get a sear, not burnt. Next, add the peppers, and some additional salt to help them sweat. Stir and continue to cook until they are soft and you get a little blackening.
3 Deglaze pan with wine: Add the red and white wine if you are using, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned sausage bits. Let the wine cook down by half.
4 Add tomatoes, basil, chili flakes, additional salt and pepper to taste, and the already cooked sausages, and simmer and stir well to combine. Reduce to low heat and let simmer. Cover and simmer until the peppers are soft the sausages are cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.
If you are serving with pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt, cook the pasta al dente, reserve a cup of pasta water, combine the pasta with either the entire mix of sliced up sausages and peppers, or if you prefer, remove the sausages and some of the peppers and onions and place in a bowl, and combine the pasta with some of the peppers and onions and bring back to the stove, toss over medium heat, add in a few splashes of pasta water to help amalgamate the ingredients, take off the heat, add a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil for flavor, freshly grated Pecorino Romano, and a bit of chopped Italian parsley to garnish, plate and serve immediately. Ricotta cheese is also nice with this dish, especially if you are using hot sausage, and hot peppers, the cool, creamy cheese is a great complement.
On the table, with a Kumato Tomato Caprese Salad with Mozzarella di Bufala, Avocado, Arugula, Radicchio, Basil, Extra-Virgin, and Balsamic with Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper.
