I’m not going to lie you. This is a needy recipe, and it’s a little time-consuming. But you have to trust me on this: it’s SO worth it. There are shortcuts and ways to make it easier, so just bear with me and follow along….please? LOOK AT THAT PICTURE! How could you not want to keep reading?
Ok, so let me give you some background on this. My sister introduced this recipe to me. When she and her husband made it, I felt like they were working on it for at least 4 hours. This was not something I wanted to replicate, so I came up with a few changes that does not compromise the flavor of the recipe, but makes me not want to pull my hair out and cry. So, it’s a win win.
Tip #1: Grill all the meat and vegetables ahead of time. I like to do it all in one day and just put it in the refrigerator so I can be ready for this pasta the next day. It’s a HUGE time saver. So grill up turkey burgers or maybe some chicken and throw on some Italian sausage, peppers, onions and a head of garlic while the grill is lit.
Tip #2: Roasting peppers. This seems hard, but it’s really not that bad. Take a whole pepper, wash it, take the sticker off and throw it on a 300-350 degree grill. Rotate around regularly until all sides are black. It will take about fifteen minutes. The peppers may look burnt, but that skin is going to come off. The key is to get the inside meat soft.
Tip #3: When the time comes to peel the peppers (if this stresses you out too much, you can always just buy jarred. But if you’re feeling daring – try this – it’s pretty cool). After the peppers have been cooked, throw them in a paper bag, close it and let it cool that way. The heat from the peppers makes the skin come off really easily. DO NOT RINSE THE ROASTED PEPPERS. When you do that, you’re rinsing off the grilled flavor.
Tip #4: The onions. Take your whole onion and cut it in maybe 4 big circular chunks. When you grill your onions, hold the slices together with toothpicks. It makes it MUCH easier to flip them.
Tip #5: Refer to my smoke roasted garlic recipe. Make a ton of this stuff so you have it on hand when you make this recipe. If you want to cheat, you can bake a head of garlic in the oven for 45 minutes at 350. But don’t cheat. Your pasta will be sad.
Did that make it a little easier? I hope so. Get out there and challenge yourself. Yes it takes a bit of time but when you break it down it really is easy. The flavor is going to blow your mind.
Sausage Pepper and Onion Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound of Italian Sausage links
- 5 yellow and red peppers
- 1 red onion - sliced in big chunks held together with toothpicks
- 1 head of roasted garlic
- 1 pound of penne noodles
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 chopped tomato
- 2 tbn of chopped fresh basil
- Grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Refer to my tips. Grill your sausage, peppers and onions ahead of time. It makes life easier for everyone.
- Cook noodles according to package directions.
- Slice the sausage, peppers, and onions into thin slices. Reheat in a sauce pan on low. Squeeze smoked roasted garlic into the sausage/pepper/onion mixture. Mix well.
- Chop tomato into bite sized pieces. Add into sausage/pepper/onion mixture.
- Drain the noodles and pour into a gi-normous bowl. Add the olive immediately to the hot noodles. Add sausage/pepper/onion mixture to the noodles. Sprinkle the basil and parmesan cheese over it. Add salt and pepper to taste.