Italian-style Sausage and Pepper

Italian-style Sausage and Pepper. This is a fabulous meal in one dish! Furthermore, it is easy, super delicious, and well-loved amongst us Italians!

Song of the day: "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen.

Italian-style Sausage and Pepper. Take red and yellow peppers, some potatoes and onions, add a bit of spice, some good seasoning, and of course these wonderful sausages. Bake it in one pan in the oven and, as a result, you have this dish. The flavors and textures will knock your socks off!

Sausage lover!

I am honestly a sausage lover! Not all types, but especially the true Italian style, made by hand, coarse ground, and those simple spices that deliver a wonderful sensation to the palate.

Growing up we were no strangers to homemade sausage. It was always in the Fall and my Mom and Dad would go to the butcher to get their prime cut of pork meat. They had their preference as to how coarse they wanted the meat ground, likewise, I always thought of it as almost hand cut. Large strands with a good percentage of fat. The end result would be delicious meaty succulent sausage meat!

The flavor is in the spices

My father always prepared the meat the night before actually making the sausage. He had a large wood board where he would place the ground pork shoulder and hind end, the ground of course! Furthermore, he had a blend of salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, pimento, and in some, he would add fennel seeds. To this day I can still smell that meat marinating in the cold cellar.

For my brother and I we woke early in the morning so we could snatch up some of that ground and fry it up in a pan. If there ever was a heaven, it was the moment I placed that squashed irregular patty in some Italian crusty bread and opened my mouth wide to bite in.  The flavor was incredible, crispy edges, juicy sweet caramelized pork and the spices of red chilis, black pepper, paprika, adding in that fennel was just pure deliciousness to a young Italian like me.

The memories of those sausages hanging and curing in the cold cellar are like a photograph to me. More so, one I pull out from time to time, especially when I am making dishes like this!

Nicoletta and I a few years ago had the last chance to make homemade sausages with my  Mother and  Father. Needless to say, this memory is one that we will cherish forever and the sausage burgers we enjoyed after making the sausages with the leftover meat were just incredible! These are the things that keep my dad alive in my mind!

Italian-style Sausage and Pepper, a five ingredient meal

The blessing of this dish is that it only requires five ingredients, however, the flavor that will come out of uniting these ingredients is phenomenal!

Let's talk sausage!

Obviously, sausages are one of the ingredients. Let's talk sausage for a moment. I would only use a good quality Italian sausage. One that looks like it has coarse ground pork inside. Whether hot or mild is really up to you. If you have an Italian market, that is where you want to go to get some.

For this recipe, I used some homemade sausages that my Uncle Giovanni and I made. Talk about bringing back the memories. My uncle is a true foodie for sure. When I call him, our conversations always turn to food and recipes. I bought some really nice pork shoulder and tenderloin from our local organic butcher. We ground it at my uncle's place and filled it there too. More so, he is all set up for sausage making. For the casings we used lamb.

After we finished making the sausages, we sat down to a wonderful dinner, and yes, the dish was this one I am sharing with you today: Italian-style Sausage and Pepper.

Prep time!

The prep for this dish is so easy:

• Firstly you cut up the sausages into nice bite-size pieces.
• Secondly, likewise, slice up the peppers, onions, and peeled potatoes.
• Thirdly, toss it all into a large baking dish and add in a few cloves of garlic pressed and whole.
• Lastly, a nice splash of extra virgin olive oil. Furthermore, some salt, pepper, paprika, and a dusting of freshly chopped parsley. Into the oven, you go!

The aroma, oh that aroma!

I wish you could be here while this Italian-style Sausage and Pepper is cooking.  The aroma of the peppers sweet, the onion ever so sweet, and those potatoes, it is making my mouth water. Absolutely love how the natural sugars of the sausage and similar sugars of the veggies just caramelize giving you those nice browned edges and flavor that just explodes in your mouth! I better have a taste just to see if the potatoes are done. Mmmmmmmmmm, oh yah! Crispy on the outside and soft and billowy on the inside. Just the way I like it!

Get me some bread!

This meal needs a nice rustic bread. I break off a piece and dip it in the oil in the pan. Ooooh, my God that is so so good. The sweetness of the peppers and onions, likewise the spices from the sausages, are bliss to my tongue and taste buds. However, we have to dive into the real deal now. It is just incredible, the sausages are tender, juicy. I love how when you bite in and the juices want to just drip down your chin. The flavor of the spices comes through, paprika, fennel, chilis, more so they pair so well with the sweetness of those morsels of pork!

Gotta have your veggies!

The peppers are soft and sweet. They have a bit of smokiness from the roasting process, and with the onions like candy to a child! Who doesn't like oven-roasted potatoes, especially when they have that golden crust on the outside? Oh, but wait, inside is like this creamy, soft, billowy cloud that just melts like butter on your tongue. Every flavor highlighted by the aroma and taste of garlic. The perfect partner to anything roasted!

Looking for an easy meal tonight?

Sometimes I feel like I don't really know what to make for dinner. I don't want to fuss too much, however want something comforting and substantial. Well, one always comes to mind. This Italian-style Sausage and Pepper hits all the checkmarks when it comes to easy prep, delicious flavors and textures, and a family favorite! Why not give it a try, and let me know what you think! I would absolutely love to hear from you!

Buon Appetito!

More recipes featuring sausages?

• Orecchiette with Rapini and Sausage
• Salsicce e Fagioli all'Uccelletto (Tuscan sausage and beans)
• Pizza Funghi e Salsiccia (Mushroom and Sausage Pizza)
• Slow Braised Ribs and Sausages in Roasted Tomato Sauce

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