Grilled Italian Sausage and Peppers Two Ways offers two crowd pleasing ways to serve these favorites.
Growing up in an Italian-American family in New Jersey, Italian sausage and peppers was a favorite and familiar summertime meal, whether from the backyard barbeque grill at Vito’s grandparents’ house or from one of the innumerable kiosk restaurants rising from or lining the boardwalk at seaside resorts “down the shore”, no tables, just counters with bar stools to “eat it there or take away somewhere”. Regardless of the venue, Italian sausage and peppers never failed to satisfy.
We have always preferred the grill to the griddle for cooking sausages and peppers; the slightly smoky and charred exteriors of the sausage links and peppers pieces yielding to juicy, flavor-bursting interiors upon biting into them. Here, we’ve prepared grilled Italian sausage and peppers two ways; the classic on a roll topped with melting provolone and mozzarella cheeses and grilled pepper strips and an alternative preparation with the sausages sliced into thin rounds and combined with the grilled pepper strips, then all mixed into quick tomato sauce with pasta. Either way, you will surely be satisfied. Enjoy!
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 50 minutes Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 Bell Peppers, assorted colors preferred
- 4 Italian Sausage links, mild, hot or both
- Olive Oil
- ¼ tsp Coarse Sea Salt
- 2 fresh sub or hoagie Rolls
- 4 slices each Provolone and Whole Milk Mozzarella
- 2 oz/57 grams Penne, Ziti or Mostaccioli pasta per person
- 2 cups of Quick Tomato Sauce, see recipe
- Crushed Red Pepper flakes
- Grated Parmigiano and Romano Cheeses
Preparation:
- Take the Italian sausage links from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.
- Wash and trim the bell peppers by removing each pepper’s crown about ½ inch down from the shoulders. Remove the seeds and any white pith from the cavity in the cup portion of the pepper. Use a sharp, pointed knife to carefully trim the stem portion from the pepper’s crown, leaving a ring. Use the same knife to cut the pepper’s cup along the natural planes, so as to leave you with flat sections of pepper. Repeat for each pepper.
- Place the cut peppers in a bowl large enough to hold them, coat lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with the coarse sea salt. Gently turn the pepper pieces in the bowl to ensure that all are seasoned with the olive oil and sea salt.
- Bring a 3-quart pan of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta.
- In a wide skillet, heat two cups of Quick Tomato Sauce to a simmer and keep covered.
- Heat the grill on high, when you can hold your hand 1-inch from the grill surface for 5 seconds before it is too hot, the grill is ready.
- Place the pepper pieces, skin side up, in a single layer on the grill surface. Grill until the peppers start to char, turn pieces over and repeat. Remove peppers from the grill to the seasoning bowl.
- Slice the grilled peppers into thin strips, return to the bowl, cover to keep warm.
- Prick each sausage link two or three times with a fork, taking care not to go all the way through the link.
- Place the sausage links on the grill in a single layer and grill for 8 minutes per side, turning once.
Grilled Italian Sausage and Peppers on a Roll.
The “classic” on a roll:
- While the sausages are grilling, slice each roll lengthwise.
- Place one grilled sausage link directly from the grill into each roll, layer two slices each of provolone and mozzarella on top of each sausage, followed by a portion of the grilled pepper slices and serve.
Grilled Italian Sausage and Peppers with Pasta.
With pasta:
- While the sausages are grilling, add your pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente.
- Add the cooked pasta to the quick tomato sauce simmering in the skillet.
- Slice two grilled sausage links into thin rounds and add, along with any juices, to the pasta and sauce in the skillet.
- Add half the grilled pepper slices to the skillet, stir to mix the ingredients thoroughly and serve immediately.
Have crushed red pepper flakes and grated cheese available to garnish the sandwiches and pasta with and enjoy!
