The babble of a middle-aged lunatic.
Italian Peasant Food : Sausages, Peppers, Potatoes, and Onions


Ok folks, an all-time favorite of mine, sausages, peppers potatoes and onions (SPP&O), is a skillet-cooked peasant meal fit for a king! I eat this dish about 3 or 4 times a month with a nice salad, a loaf of vienna bread, and a bottle of my favorite chardoney.

SPP&O costs about $6-7, feeds 4 to 6 people, and cooks up in around 1 hour.


The Stuff You Need:
  1. 5 or 6 Italian sausages (hot or sweet)
  2. 2 green bell peppers
  3. 5 or 6 medium white potetoes
  4. 1 large yellow onion
  5. 3 or 4 cloves of garlic (optional)
  6. Olive oil
  7. Salt & pepper
The Prep:
  1. Cut the green pepper into 1" squares
  2. Cut the potatoes into 1-1/2" to 2" cubes
  3. Cut the onion into slivers
  4. Chop up your garlic
Cooking:
  1. Heat enough olive oil enough to cover the bottom of a large cast-iron skillet
  2. Cook the sausages over medium-high heat until about 1/2 cooked, then remove and reserve for later
  3. Par-boil the potatoes for 4-5 minutes, or until the soften some, then drain and reserve for later
  4. In the same skillet cook the peppers for 3 or 4 minutes over medium-high heat, then add the onions; then the garlic and cook until the onion is clear
  5. If needed, put some H2O in the pan, should things begin to get a bit dry. You may need to do this several times during the rest of the process. If you do not, the food will burn to the bottom of your pan, and while it might taste great, your not going to want to clean the skillet afterwards.
  6. Toss in the potatoes and the Italian sausage; add the salt and pepper to taste; and turn the heat to medium.
  7. Mix it all up good, then cover and continue to cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and the sausage is cooked through.
  8. You're going to have to mix this stuff from the bottom with a spatula every 5 minutes or so, adding some water if necessary
Pics:



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Comments
on Nov 25, 2006
Looks good! Do you know what part of Italy this comes from? Just curious, since each region has it's own "speciality". Also, I just asked my born and bred Italian husband, he's never heard of it. One of my favorite Italian "peasant" foods, yellow polenta with gorgonzola cheese and a tomato/beef sauce.
Ann
on Nov 25, 2006
My Noni was from Naples, and my Grandpa from Napoli, but where the recipe came from, I cannot say.

Oh, the polenta. Yeah, we had it the same way that you describe, but using Romano cheese. I never liked it all that much, to grainy for me. It was more like I had some polenta with my sauce

If your husband can help me out, I'd really appreciate it: We made a tomato sauce with meat (ground pork and hamburg). I don't know how to spell it, but it was pronounced "sufrit" (Soo-frIt-a).

TIA
on Nov 25, 2006
Ah, real food--and those pics could be in a food magazine---and I'm getting damn hungry!.
on Nov 25, 2006
Here I am, stuck at work at the drive-through at the bank . . . nothing to eat, nothing to do but dink around on JU . . . and I see these pictures, read the recipe, and I can almost taste it.

I hate you, Xythe. You're a total jerk.
on Nov 25, 2006
Ah, real food--and those pics could be in a food magazine---and I'm getting damn hungry!.


Thanks!

I hate you, Xythe. You're a total jerk.


Why thank you San Cho, you know how hard I try