SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS

I can't say that I love street food--not in America anyway--but I make an exception for sausage and peppers. It doesn't matter that I seldom eat green peppers or that it is clearly grease that is being absorbed by my roll. I still love the kind of sausage and pepper hero that you get at the Italian feast or on the boardwalk.

I draw the line at cooking that kind of sausage and peppers. When I'm making the dish for a party or cookout, I use regular pork sausage and let the calories be damned. But I enjoy this dish on a regular basis by substituting a good turkey sausage (I prefer Jennie-O and Perdue, the latter being harder to find). With a few little additions, you can really ramp up the flavor. I sometimes serve this over pasta; sometimes on a good piece of Italian bread; or, just plain with a salad and/or another vegetable. If you haven't already tried turkey sausage, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

One of my additions is tomato paste. I no longer buy this staple in cans. I was forever using 1 or 2 tablespoons, wrapping the leftovers, then discovering it weeks (months) later desiccated and nasty. Now I buy the double concentrated tomato paste in a tube. You use what you need and it lasts in the refrigerator for quite a good while. That and the anchovy paste in a can are two of my favorite food finds.

Sausage and Peppers, My Way

1 lb turkey sausage, sweet or hot

1 tbs olive oil

3 large RED peppers (the green ones are too bitter!)

1 very large Vidalia or Spanish onion
1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbs tomato paste

3 tbs Marsala wine

2-3 leaves of fresh basil, julienned

Seed and slice the peppers; slice the onion into rings; mince the garlic. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute; add the onions and peppers and cook, stirring, about 15 minutes. Remove to a bowl. Add the turkey sausage to the pan and brown. (I like to cut the browned sausages into 4-6 pieces each, but you can leave them whole.) Return the onion and pepper mixture to the pan over medium heat and add the 3 tbs Marsala wine and the 2 tbs tomato paste and stir to combine. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes to meld flavors. Sprinkle with 2-3 leaves of fresh basil. Very fragrant and very tasty and only 30 minutes from start to finish.