When most parents were grilling hot dogs and burgers for the 4th of July, my mom made sausage, onions, and peppers. We never did things the American way in my house growing up – always Italian – and my mom insisted it was better and she was usually right. She knew how to make her own sausages including grinding the meat and placing it in casings, but given that she worked full time, she often made the trip to Baltimore to Trinacria (translation is “three pointed” like the island of Sicily and a place I have visited since I was born) and bought their pork sausage links, which were affordable and excellent.
These days, I usually make fancy burgers for the 4th like I did last year (I decided to do a twist on the Raoul’s classic with Saint Andre cheese, au poivre style beef patties, arugula, red onion, and cornichons) to the disappointment of the grill master (aka my husband John, the Irishman). But there is something classic about the winning combination of sausages and onions with red and yellow peppers (never green which tend to be bitter) that is pretty sublime. Through trial and error, I have found surprisingly, that my local Giant a subsidiary of Ahold, makes some of the better sausages I have had after tasting quite a few. And I have had many! I usually buy four kinds – sweet pork sausage, hot pork sausage, chicken sausage and kale and chicken sausage. If I’m visiting my son Ryan at school, I will go to Calabria Pork and pick up the pork sausage with rapini, which is my absolute favorite. But when it’s just me and my family, I have them all and serve them with salads and crusty rolls when we have company.
Try this for an easy weeknight dish or for your next 4th!
Ingredients
2 pounds mixed sausages (I like sweet, hot and chicken)
Olive oil
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 yellow bell pepper sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
Torn basil leaves for garnish
Crusty rolls for serving
1. Prick each sausage with a fork. Put sausages in a large skillet. Add water to slightly cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, then cover, turn off heat. Remove sausages when cooled.
2. Place the clean skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add sliced peppers and onions. Season the onions with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic just at the end and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the red wine vinegar.
3. Transfer pepper mixture to a platter. Over medium heat, coat the same pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil, add sausages and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, to brown. Top pepper mixture with cooked sausages. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and oregano and garnish with torn basil leaves.
4. It’s traditional to serve the sausages, onions and peppers in a crusty roll. My mom served the sausages and peppers with a side of ketchup which may sound terrible but is fabulous. Use Heinz only. Nothing else!
Comments