Tomato Tomatoe

Sausage & pepper sandwiches on garlic bread

I’ve been following Laura Vitale on YouTube for years! I love her easy and approachable Italian recipes. I’ve made her sausage and pepper sandwiches for years and it’s a tried-and-true recipe that I can never get enough of. I’ve slightly tweaked her recipe and added few additions of my own.

There’s a few things that I absolutely love about this recipe, these things keep me coming back to it time and time again. The first thing that I love is that it’s a one pot meal which means minimal cleanup. The second thing that I love is that it’s very easy to make. You start by searing the sausages until golden and then you begin to build your sauce. The sauce bubbles away on the stove for 1-2 hours (depending on how much time you have). What I love most about this recipe is that it doubles as two meals. The first night you make this recipe, you will use the sausage and peppers in sandwiches on toasted garlic bread. This recipe makes a large quantity of sauce and that’s where meal number two comes in. Later in the week the leftovers can be turned into a sauce for pasta. The recipe makes quite a bit so that’s why I like to put the leftovers on pasta later in the week. When I’m making the pasta, I like to heat up the sauce and crush up the sausage with a wooden spoon. This way every bite of pasta will have a piece of crumbled sausage. This is a really easy weeknight dinner and it’s perfect to make when the temperature starts to drop.

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sausage & pepper sandwiches on garlic bread

Ingredients – Dough

• Olive Oil
• 8 Italian Sausages
• 1 Large Onion, or two medium onion, sliced thin
• 4 Bell Peppers, sliced
• 5 Cloves of Garlic, minced finely (2 tbsp used for the sauce, remaining used for the garlic bread)
• 4 jalapenos, chopped into small pieces (or any spicy peppers you have)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup of Red Wine
• 1 690ml jar of passata (roughly 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups of Beef Stock
• 1 tsp of Granulated Garlic
• 1 tsp of Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• Fresh basil
• Ciabatta buns
• Sliced provolone
• 8 Tbsp of Butter, softened at room temperature
• Pinch of Italian seasoning
• 4 Tbsp of Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 small Parmigiano Reggiano rind (optional)

Directions

1. Depending on the length of your sausages, cut them in half. If they are small, leave them whole. Heat a large Dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and once the pan is hot add the sausages. Sear until golden on all sides. Remove sausages from the pan and set aside.
2. Add the peppers and onions and sauté for 5-6 minutes until they begin to cook down. Add the jalapeño, tomato paste and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the tomato paste has caramelized and the garlic becomes fragrant.
3. Add the wine and let this cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the passata (add some water to the empty jar and shake to remove any of the leftover passata and add the water to the pan), beef stock, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and sausages. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to low. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 2 hours, stirring every so often. If you don’t have the time this can also cook for 1 hour.
5. When you are ready to assemble the sandwiches preheat the oven to 400° F. Mix the softened butter with 3 tbsp minced garlic, a pinch of chili flakes, Parmigiano Reggiano and 1 tsp dried parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the ciabatta buns in half and smear the garlic butter on both sides of the bread. Toast in the oven for 7-8 minutes until they are deep golden and crispy.
6. Slice the sausage in half lengthwise and arrange them on the bread. Spoon on the sauce and peppers. Top with provolone cheese and broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is golden. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

1. To use the leftover sauce for pasta, heat the sausage and peppers and break up the sausage with a wooden spoon. Cook the pasta to al dente and toss the pasta with the sauce. Add freshly grated parmigiana Reggiano and fresh basil.