My father was Italian and my mother Irish. My father would cook all of the Italian meals and my mother would cook the meat and potato dishes.
But there was one meal they cooked together. They called it Irish Style Italian Sausage. And if you are like me, a one pan dinner is right up my alley. Follow me after the jump for recipe and pictures.
I recently lost my father and this diary is in honor of him and my mom (soon to be 80 years old)!
This is a perfect meal and so simple to throw together. It is so tasty and perfect for a party. Today I had a couple of friends over for a late lunch and I decided to take pictures as the cooking progressed in order to share it with you tonight.
You can make any amount you want. But I will tell you what I used for these pictures. Last night after work, I went to the Italian Deli and bought four pounds of homemade Italian Sausage for $18.00. I bought half sweet and half hot. I never buy sausage at a supermarket because I feel the skins are usually too thick and don't allow the juices to flow from the sausage. If I am in a jam, I will use supermarket sausage but I will always prick them with a fork before I put them in the pan. With good homemade sausage this isn't necessary.
I started out early this morning on a trip to the farmers market. I was able to purchase some five very large peppers, 2 of which were red and two large spanish onions. I like to use both the red and green peppers because it makes the dish look nice & colorful. I also purchased 5 very large (huge!) baking potatos. I paid $8.00 for all of it. Next, a trip to the bakery for two large loaves of Italian bread, costing $5.00.
Total expense: $31.00
So, we have:
4 lbs. Italian Sausage
4 very large baking potatos
2 large spanish onions
6 peppers
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tbs. olive oil or vegetable oil
Preparation: Clean and cut the peppers in strips. Peel and cut the onions in strips. Peel and cut the potatos as shown above.
Total Cooking Time: It took 2 1/4 hours.
Okay---time to throw it all together! Preheat oven to 375 degrees before you begin.
Get a large heavy baking pan. Toss in 1/2 cup water and two tablespoons of oil. Lay out your sausage in the bottom of the pan as in the pic shown below.
Next, layer the peppers on top of the sausage.
Next, layer the onions and then top it off with the potatos. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now cover it loosely with foil and put it in the oven. After one hour, remove the pan. Using a set of tongs, remove the sausage. Mix all of the potatos and onions and peppers really well, mixing all of the juices that are now flowing. Return the sausage to the pan, now laying them on the top. Leave the foil off for the rest of the cooking. Cook for another half hour.
Remove the sausage and toss all the veggies again. Mix the sausage to the veggies and back to the oven. Cook for another half hour or until the potatos are nice and brown.
Enjoy!!
Now, that's Italian! I mean Irish....