Sausage and Peppers...and Potatoes and Onions
I wish in the deepest depths of my Pinterest mom heart that I could say that this is a one-pan meal! I really do. In fact, I treated it as such for years until one fateful day, I was hanging with Bimpy in his basement kitchen (an exclusive invite, let me tell you), and he was making his version of SPP&O. I saw that he cooked the sausage separately and was SHOOK. Truly, my mind was blown. At once, I realized how much sense it made. The sausage needs much less time to cook, and I was under cooking my vegetables to save the sausage! What an amateur.
Ever since then, my SPP&O recipe has been saved. I now get the veggies as crispy as I want, and the sausage always turns out perfectly on its own. Separating the two is an iconic move, and we have Bimpy to thank for it. Recently, I tried to get him to add fennel seeds and a splash of red wine vinegar (my secret ingredients) to his recipe, and he literally just stared at me. But perhaps you'll find them necessary for this delicious Sausage and Peppers and Potatoes and Onions recipe!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
6 Italian sausages, sweet or hot
2 red bell peppers, sliced into strips
2 small onions, sliced into wedges
5 white or yellow potatoes, peeled and sliced into coins (optional)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
Preheat oven to 400º.
Add red bell peppers, onions, and potatoes to a bowl. Add salt, pepper, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Stir to coat, then mix evenly and place onto a sheet pan.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, slice sausages into 1" chunks and coat in olive oil. Spread out on a separate sheet pan and set aside.
After your vegetables are in the oven for 30 minutes, pull them out and flip them over while moving them around the tray. Place back into the oven for 30 more minutes.
At the same time the veggies go in for their second cook, place your sausage in the oven on a different rack. Allow 15 minutes to go by, then pull out your sausage and flip it over and move around the tray. Place back into the oven for 15 more minutes.
When the 15 minutes are up, your sausage should be ridiculously crispy on the outside. Remove sausage from oven.
After checking on your sausage, check on your vegetables. They have been in the oven for an hour now, and should be nice and crispy and brown. You can keep them in as long as you want here! But an hour is usually the sweet spot for me.
Once you have your veggies where you want them, add your crispy sausage to the pan of crispy veggies and get them all acquainted.
Before serving, you can throw everything back in the oven to heat through for few minutes if needed.
I like to serve/eat this straight out of the pan, but you do whatever makes you happy!
Enjoy!
Make it step-by-step with me below!
These are my only friends!!!
1. Grab a big bowl. Slice your peppers into strips and add to bowl.
2. Slice your onions into wedges and break apart with your hands. Add to bowl.
3. Peel your potatoes.
Note: Potatoes are totally optional in this recipe. I love them, but sometimes I go without and stick to just sausage, peppers, and onions. Especially if the goal is to turn this mix into delicious sandwiches that day.
4. Slice potatoes into coins, about 1/4 thick. You can use the thickest setting on Amanda Lynn (a mandolin) as well, if you like!
5. Add potato coins to your bowl.
6. Add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and enough olive oil and red wine vinegar to coat vegetables. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.
7. Stir to coat vegetables.
8. Spread vegetables onto a rimmed baking sheet and place in preheated 400º oven for 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, grab your sausage.
10. Slice sausage into 1" chunks.
11. Coat your sausage in a little bit of olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
12. After 30 minutes in the oven, pull out your vegetables. Flip them over and move them around. Place them back into the oven, along with your separate tray of sausage in the oven (on a different rack).
13. After 15 minutes, pull out your sausage and move it around the pan. Put it back in the oven for 15 more minutes.
14. When the 15 minutes are up, your sausage should be ridiculously crispy on the outside. Remove sausage from oven.
15. After checking on your sausage, check on your vegetables. They have been in the oven for an hour now, and should be nice and crispy and brown. You can keep them in as long as you want here! But an hour is usually the sweet spot for me.
Once you have your veggies where you want them, add your crispy sausage to the pan of crispy veggies and get them all acquainted.
Before serving, you can throw everything back in the oven to heat through for few minutes.
I like to serve/eat this straight out of the pan, but you do whatever makes you happy!
Enjoy!