Cooking with Solveig: Sausage and Peppers

Makes 6 main course servings and 12 appetizer servings.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Italian Sausage (sweet, mild or spicy - I prefer spicy. Turkey Italian sausage works well, too)
  • 6 c chicken or vegetable stock, plus water to cover
  • 4 T evoo, divided
  • 1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced 1⁄4-inch thick
  • 1 small red pepper, seeded and sliced 1⁄4-inch thick
  • 1 small yellow pepper, seeded and sliced 1⁄4-inch thick
  • 1 small green pepper, seeded and sliced 1⁄4-inch thick
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced (I like more!)
  • 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 1 14 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1⁄2 t dried basil
  • 1⁄2 t dried oregano
  • 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 t lemon pepper or McCormick’s seasoned pepper salt & pepper to taste
  • French baguettes cut into pieces to match the size of the sausages cut into thirds OR Italian sandwich rolls cut into pieces to match the size of the sausage cut into thirds NOTE: COVER BREAD TO KEEP FROM GETTING DRY
  1. Prepare your bread to receive your sausages. Cut to appropriate length and slice open, leaving a hinge. If using Italian sandwich rolls, you may need to pinch some of the interior bread out of the roll to make room for the sausage. Reserve the pinched bread to make homemade breadcrumbs.
  2. In a 4-6 quart saucepan, place your sausages and the stock plus water, if needed, to cover the sausages completely. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave sausages in the stock for 5 minutes. Remove sausages from stock and cut into thirds.
  3. Heat 2 T evoo in a LARGE skillet. Saute sausages until golden brown on two sides. Remove from pan. Add 1-2 T evoo to same skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Saute onions and peppers until golden. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.
  4. Deglaze pan (add liquid to pan and reduce until liquid is reduced by halfwith 1⁄2 c reserved stock.) Add diced tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Reduce and stir until desired consistency. I like my sauce to be similar to marinara sauce - not watery, but not as thick as paste. (you can add more of the stock you cooked the sausage in to thin the sauce if it gets too thick. The more you reduce, the more flavor you’ll get.)
  5. Add sausage to the pan; stir to reheat sausages.
  6. Place the sausages in your prepared bread and top with onions, peppers, and sauce.

If you’d like to serve this dish family style, cut the sausages into 1⁄2-inch pieces and saute until golden on one side and continue with the directions above from there.

Serve with sliced fresh bread. A simple green salad is the perfect accompaniment to this dish. Add potatoes or pasta to make this a hearty meal.