It seems that I’m always cooking for a crowd, and I need to constantly be creative. There’s always an occasion to celebrate with food, and this past Saturday, the party was at our house. It was a gathering to watch the Pacquiao/Mayweather fight. My son invited about 10 friends but 15 showed up. You know how the news get around. I also had other guests for a total of 25 people. I decided to make Sweet Italian Sausage with Onions & Peppers. I tried a new method of cooking the sausages, and the result was stupendous. I always get them at one place only,  Doris Italian Market. I love them with fennel seeds, but that’s my preference. You can get them without the fennel, it’s up to your taste buds.

This method works like a charm, and the sausages will come out golden brown, if you follow my step by step instructions.

Serves: 10 – 15 with other food  – Level of Difficulty: Medium, because it is time-consuming. Allow 1 – 1.5 hour from start to finish, depending how fast you work. This recipe like most of my recipes can easily be divided into smaller portions.

Ingredients:

• 5 lb. sweet Italian sausage with fennel seeds, (or without)
• Generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, follow the recipe
• 4 green bell peppers, cut in julienne (long thin strips)
• 2  large sweet onions, sliced
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Water
• Hoagies or sub rolls,  optional

Preparation:

You will need two pots to prepare this amount of sausage, and one pot for the onions and peppers. I like to use a deep one so the oil doesn’t splatter all over the stove. I did one pot at time, otherwise, it would be too much juggling back and forth. You certainly can cook them simultaneously, but that’s up to you.

1) In a large pot, place the sausage in a single layer and cover with enough water to be close to the same level as the sausages. (as seen on the picture) On medium-high heat, bring it to a boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes . Drain some of the left over water on the bottom, but if there is only a little water left, don’t worry, no need to drain, it will evaporate. In that case, leave the pot on the stove at the same temperature, medium-high, with the sausages. Pour a generous amount of olive oil, at least 1/2 cup. Pan fry for 5 minutes. You will be hearing that sizzling sound. Flip the sausages, and pan fry the other sides for another 5 minutes. They will obtain a beautiful golden brown color like you see in my pictures. Do the second batch in a different pot so the bottom is nice and clean. Place the sausages on a cutting board and let them rest for 5 minutes to retain its juices before cutting them. Set aside.

2) Cut peppers in julienne, and slice the onions.

3) In a new pot, on medium-high heat, heat a generous amount of olive oil, about 3/4 cup or so, drop the onions and peppers, COVER and sweat for about 10 minutes. This method will speed up the cooking process. Stir occasionally. The veggies will start to wilt nicely. REMOVE THE COVER, keeping the flame on med-high heat. At this point, the frying process will begin, and you will hear that beautiful sizzling sound again.  Add salt & pepper to taste, pan fry for 10 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Now that everything is cooked, combine the sausage with the onions and peppers in the pot. Mix well. Dinner is ready to be served. You can eat them with a fork, or as a sub on a hoagie roll. The choice is yours.  Use a condiment of your choice.

Needless to say, there were no leftovers, and my guests were very happy with the deliciousness of the sausages.

Tip #1)  Notice, there is no slow cooking in this recipe, you will be cooking on medium-high temperature all the time. That is the only way to get a nice caramelization on the sausages and the veggies.

Tip #2) Always pay attention, and  use your judgement . My recipes are to be used as a guideline.

Happy Cooking from Gina’s Kitchen to Yours,