Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

You can't go wrong with a classic combination. My husband made these the other night and they were so good we had two each - plus a bit extra at the end. He decided to keep the bread soft which turned out be a nice contrast to the crisp sausage. You can use either hot or sweet Italian sausage, or any combination of the two. We decided on sweet, but he added a bit of crushed red pepper flakes for heat.

For this recipe you will need: 8 large Italian sausage links, 2 red bell peppers, 1 large onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1/2 cup red wine, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and bakery fresh sandwich buns.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat and add sausage links whole. Turn until all sides are browned and remove from pan. Slice peppers and onions and add to pan. Add red pepper flakes and oregano to vegetables and cook them until tender, about 6 minutes. Slice the garlic and add to the pan until fragrant. Add tomato paste and stir to coat peppers and onions and then immediate add wine to deglaze the pan and dissolve tomato paste. Return sausage links to pan. Reduce heat to low and cover. When the insides of the sausage are done (internal temp of 165), remove cover and either allow extra liquid to cook out or fill buns with sausage link and top with peppers and onions. They're very messy and very fabulous! Enjoy!

Edited to add: My husband just reminded me that he added sliced garlic to the vegetables a few minutes before deglazing. I've updated the recipe above. Thanks, Honey! =)