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I love Italian food and the best Italian food is made fresh, from pasta to one of my favorite comfort food dishes: sausage and peppers. Sautéed sausages and peppers are just one of those combos that make sense when they come together. It’s a simple dish but don’t let this fool you into thinking that it’s bland or boring. When made well, this is just as good for a family weeknight dinner as it is for a dinner party.
A dinner of sausage and peppers is savory, hearty, and fairly quick to make but it has that rustic, homemade quality that you want to have in Italian cooking. If you need another reason to make this dish, think “one pot.” Everything cooks up in one skillet and is ready to serve right from the pan.
I start with mild Italian sausage links and cook them up in the skillet until they’re just cooked through. Once they’re browned (hello flavor!) on the sides, I remove them from the skillet and a pat of butter – even more flavor – and once that’s melted, I’ll add my sliced bell peppers and onions. These will sauté in the butter until softened and then I’ll add my garlic. Garlic can burn quickly so be sure to stir frequently to prevent that bitter burnt garlic taste from infusing into the food.
A jar of your favorite marinara is a great short cut to making this dish. I also want to add more flavor so I’ll use tomato paste and some Marsala wine for added depth of flavor and richness. I’ll bring the liquid up to a boil and while that happens, I slice up my sausages about 1-inch thick and add them back into the pan. Once the sauce comes to a boil, I’ll reduce the heat to low and let this simmer, building flavor all along the way. A few minutes later and a beautiful dish of sausage and peppers has quickly filled my kitchen with my hungry family.
A couple of slices of toasty garlic bread will become essential tools that we’ll use to sop up every last bit of this meal. It really doesn’t get much easier than sausage and peppers. A couple of fresh ingredients mixed with some pantry staples and I can whip up classic comfort food for my family.
Sausage and Peppers
Yield(s): 4-6
10m prep time
20m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1lb Mild Italian Sausage
- ½ medium white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 green bell peppers, sliced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup marsala wine
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
- Cook the Italian sausage links per package instructions. Set aside.
- To the same skillet, on medium heat, add olive oil and butter.
- Once the butter is melted, add sliced bell pepper and onion. Cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Mix the tomato paste with water then add it to the pan, along with the marinara sauce, marsala wine, and the dried oregano.
- Slice the sausages into 1-inch pieces and transfer to the pan. Bring the sauce to a low boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- Serve over pasta or with slices of thick-cut garlic bread.