Italian Sausage and Peppers

Інгредієнти

2 - 3 tbsp olive oil

1.5 lbs sausage (I use 2 packages of mild Italian with bell peppers chicken sausage)

4 bell peppers, a mix of colored and green, sliced into strips and cut in half

2 white onions, sliced pole-to-pole into strips

1.5 tsp Mexican oregano

1 tsp thyme

Good sprinkle of crushed red pepper

4-8 cloves of garlic (given as a spread because no one ever uses the recommended amount of garlic. 6 cloves is good unless they're on the small side)

3/4 cup red wine

1 28oz can whole san marzano tomatoes, stick blended or crushed with your hands

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 - 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp fish sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Напрямки

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or really big pan over medium heat until it's shimmering. Add whole sausages to brown, turning regularly, 2 -4 minutes per side. You may need to work in batches. When sausages are browned, remove to a platter to cool.

Add peppers and onions to the pan along with a generous several pinches of kosher salt, some ground black pepper, oregano, thyme, and crushed red pepper. Use the moisture from the veggies to scrape up the brown bits from the sausage. Sweat on medium-low - medium heat, stirring occasionally for 10 - 15 minutes until veggies are soft. Aim for translucent rather than browned.

While the veggies are cooking, slice the sausages diagonally. This makes the pieces bigger than if you just sliced them vertically, and also it looks fancier. Put them back on the same platter - we're keeping all those sweet sweet accumulated juices.

When onions and peppers are finished, add garlic and stir for 30 - 60 seconds until garlic is fragrant.

Add the red wine. Bring it to a vigorous simmer and reduce until it's almost gone, about 10 minutes.

Add the sliced sausage along with all accumulated juices, crushed tomatoes, and sugar, then bring the mixture to a simmer and set the heat to low, stirring occasionally for 45 - 60 minutes.

Add balsamic vinegar, fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Don't skip the vinegar and fish sauce! They make a huge difference, and you deserve the best!

Serve it over rice, or add a portion to some pasta with pasta water to make a nice sauce. This freezes well, and like most tomato based sauces, it tastes way better the next day.