Nothing is better than some Italian Sausage and Peppers on a cold New York City Fall weekend! I’ve had so much going on in my life, but I desperately needed to get back to my kitchen and share another one of my favorite recipes with you. Thanks for pushing me!
First let’s talk about ingredients. It’s real simple—everything will taste better if you use FRESH ingredients. Fresh pork sausage from your local butcher will ALWAYS taste better than some frozen sausage crap from the supermarket. Peppers you roast yourself have a much better taste than those you get in a jar marinated in vinegar (yuk!). Same goes for fresh herbs. Now granted, I might not have fresh oregano on hand at all times, but I try to use fresh whenever possible…and you should, too. Don’t be a loser.
Oh and on a side note…many Sausage and Pepper recipes use Tomatoes of some type (sauce, chopped, peeled, etc.). I prefer mine without tomatoes. The choice is yours.
Prep and Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Feeds about 6 Hungry People.
Ingredients:
- 8 – 12 Sweet Italian Sausage
- 4 – 8 Bell Peppers (Red, Orange and/or Yellow—NO GREEN)
- 1 Large Onion (I prefer the White Spanish variety)
- 3 cloves of Fresh Garlic
- Fresh Basil (5 leaves)
- Fresh Parsley (10 leaves)
- Fresh Oregano (pinch)
- White Wine (big splash)
- 3 Tablespoons of Butter
- Olive Oil (big splash)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Hot Red Pepper Flakes to taste (optional)
Fire up your outdoor BBQ, indoor broiler or stovetop and burn the heck out of your peppers. Don’t worry…you really can’t overcook them.
Once burnt, put them in a bowl of cold water to loosen their skins. Remove the skins and seeds from the peppers. Rinse. Tear peppers into strips. Set aside in a bowl. (Note: you can prepare your Roasted Peppers a day or two before to save time Just keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use them.)
Brown your Sausage in a big frying pan with some Olive Oil over a medium to high flame. Remove sausage and set aside. DO NOT CLEAN FRYING PAN.
Add Butter to your frying pan and loosen up all of the brown caramelized gunk sausage fat in the pan. Slice your Garlic and Onions. Chop up your Parsley and Basil leaves. Throw it all in the same frying pan you used to fry the Sausage. Sautee until transparent.
Add roasted peppers, oregano, salt and pepper.
Stir in some White Wine. And have yourself a glass or two while you’re at it. You deserve it.
Cook until everything is tender.
Cut browned Sausages on the diagonal and add to frying pan.
Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Make sure Sausage is fully cooked.
Serve with fresh Italian Semolina Bread! Enjoy!
P.S. – Yes, you can double this recipe and freeze it if you’d like. However, It doesn’t matter how much I make…there is NEVER enough left to freeze…LOL!
With friendship,
