During the winter months nothing hits the spot like a recipe for sausage ragu and this Italian stew fits the bill wonderfullyChoose hot or mild Italian sausage according to your taste and serve it on polenta or pasta according to your preference. I like broccoli rabe sauteed in olive oil with garlic and anchovies on the side, but plain old broccoli with a dollop of mayonnaise would also be good.
Note: The recipe below serves 2, but I usually double the recipe because it's better the second day.
Ingredients:
- 3 links Italian sausage (about 3/4 lb.), cut into 3/8" rounds
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/4 lg. green bell pepper, cut into 1" square pieces*
- 1/4 lg. red bell pepper (or any ripe bell), cut into 1" square pieces*
- 1/2 sm. yellow onion, cut into 1" square pieces*
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (approximate)
- 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt to taste
Preparation:
1. In a soup pot, brown sausage in olive oil over medium high heat. Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about three minutes. Add bell peppers and continue cooking for five minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute more until you can smell the garlic.
3. Add wine, deglaze pot, and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Return sausage to pot, add tomatoes with juice, herbs, and enough chicken stock to just barely come up to top of meat. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Partially cover pot, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer gently for an hour.
*Note: Ideally the chunks of bell pepper and onion should be about the same size as the chunks of sausage.