Italian Sausage and Peppers

Growing up in a very Italian-American small town in Upstate New York, I have had italian sausage topped with peppers and onions many times. Usually served on a hoagie roll, sometimes topped with ketchup, but always pan-fried or grilled separately then assembled, this dish was common fare at company picnics, festivals, and our own backyard. An entry in my favorite slow cooker cookbook recently inspired me to dig a bit deeper into this dish, and I started searching the web for the "traditional" Italian sausage and peppers meal.

Some "experts" insist that the traditional dish must have tomatoes, others that it must not. Some call for white wine, some for nothing but a dry red, and others even suggest beer. The herbs used varied also. It seemed to all come down to the concept of browning sausages, peppers, and onions, putting them together in a large pot or dutch oven, adding a liquid, garlic, and your choice of herbs, and simmering until it all comes together and the sausage is done. I picked what I liked best about each recipe I found, and what I discovered was an incredible meal, with much greater depth of flavor than any sausage sandwich I've ever had before. This can be served on a roll, in a dish with bread for dipping, over pasta, or served as a sandwich on fresh italian bread, as done here.

2 TBS olive oil
2 pounds Italian sausage, hot, sweet, or a mix of the two, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 other color peppers, thinly sliced. I used one yellow, one orange
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes.
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 Tbs chopped fresh basil
salt to taste
fresh italian bread, cut into thirds then sliced in half to make sandwich rolls, with soft inside scooped out to make room for the sausage.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Brown sausage pieces over medium high heat until brown on all sides. Remove to large pot or dutch oven with a slotted spoon. Add peppers and onions to same skillet and cook until just becomeing tender and slightly browned. Add peppers and dripping to pot with the sausage. Into pot, add can of tomatoes with juice, garlic, wine, basil, and salt. Stir. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until sausage is cooked through, no longer pink, and peppers are soft.

If you are having this as sandwiches, prepare bread, and use tongs to place a few sausage pieces and some peppers, onions, and tomato on each roll. Otherwise, ladle into bowls and serve with bread for dipping, or ladle over cooked pasta. Serves 4 to 6. Always serve with a glass of red wine.