21st Century Italian

This was supposed to be one of those “let’s throw a bunch of things in a pot and see how it all turns out” meals. I had bought some spicy beef sausage through M.’s CSA, and I had peppers and basil and tomatoes from my own. I bought a pound of penne and figured things would come together just fine one way or another. And then, just looking for a little inspiration, I peeked in Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s book The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy’s Farmhouse Kitchens, and found/remembered her recipe for Sausage, Peppers, and Shells, which I’d made once before and enjoyed. Further proof that there is nothing new under the sun. Also proof that while I might not be the most creative of cooks, I am adept at finding good recipes written by other people.

So I figured, “Why mess with a good thing?: Or rather, I figured, “This is basically what I was going to do anyway and now I have proof that it is a good thing.” Except that I clearly needed to switch the meat/veg ratio, updating the recipe to a more contemporary way of eating.

Start with some sausage, about 1/2 pound, pierced all over so they don’t explode.

Cook them in a hot dry pan, browning on all sides.

Pour in 2 cups of red wine and 3-4 cups of water (just enough to cover the sausages).

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, long enough to cook through.

Remove the sausages to a plate, skim off the cooking liquid, and cook it to reduce by about 3/4. Then pour that into a bowl and set aside. Drizzle some olive oil into the pan and add some chopped onion and pepper, and a dried hot pepper.

(It is probably self-evident that this is the night, previously mentioned, when the power was out in my kitchen, hence the unattractive use of a flash. At this point, though, the lights came back on and we all rejoiced.)

While the peppers and onions are cooking, mince up some garlic and tear up some basil leaves.

When the onion is nicely browned, toss those into the pot, along with a little dried oregano, some chopped tomatoes, and the wine/water reduction, and some salt & pepper. Let it all simmer together, long enough for the tomatoes to break up a bit and all the flavors to meld. Finally, dice up the cooked sausage and add that to the pot.

Toss the whole mess together with a pound of cooked pasta. Theoretically you can lengthen the sauce with some of the cooking water from the pasta, but I never, ever, EVER remember to save any. It was fine without it, in any case.

The instructions in the cookbook specifically say that grated parmesan is not necessary with this dish, but if you include some with yours, I won’t tell.

Sausage & Peppers with Penne

1/2 lb sausage
2 c dry red wine
3-4 c water
1 medium red onion, coarsely diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large sweet peppers, cut into 1/2″ dice
1 dried hot pepper
salt and pepper
1 large clove garlic, minced
8 large fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb San Marzano tomatoes or equivalent (like a 14 oz can), chopped
1 lb penne (or any shape you like)

Put on a pot of water to boil. Salt it heavily and cook the pasta as instructed on the package. Scoop out a cup of the cooking liquid before you drain the pasta, to add to the sauce at the end.

Pierce the sausage casings all over. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high and cook the sausages until browned on all sides. Then pour in the wine and enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 15-20 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through. Remove the meat and let the liquid reduce by 3/4. Then pour into a bowl and set aside.

Pour the olive oil into the pan, then add the onion, sweet peppers, and dried pepper. Cook until the onion starts to brown, then add the reduced wine/water, the garlic, basil, dried oregano, and some salt & pepper. Cook until the tomatoes start to break apart and the other vegetables are softened. Chop up the sausage, and then add that to the pot. Cook another few minutes, taste for salt and pepper, and mix with the cooked pasta. Add as much of the cooking liquid as needed to make a sauce-y consistency. Serve with or without grated parmesan.