Italian sausage sandwiches

I was in the mood for something simple and spicy, as I drove home from the office yesterday. I thought about what I had in the freezer and fridge, and remembered I had some Italian sausages frozen. I also had a thin loaf of homemade bread in the fridge. Hmm.

I used jalapeños and arbol peppers from the garden, but if you want to avoid heat, bell peppers will work with this. I just worked with what I had on hand, but these came out good. Here’s how I put them together.

2 Italian sausages

Cooking spray

4 jalapeño peppers

3 hot thin red peppers

1 large clove of garlic

1/4 tsp. oregano

8 oz. can of tomato sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese

Thin loaf of homemade bread

Preparation

Take a small cast iron pan, and spray it with cooking spray. Place the Italian sausages in it, and set it a medium distance under a hot broiler. Broil until both sides begin to char. Prick the sausages with a fork to let the juices escape.

While that is broiling, cut the jalapeños (or bell pepper) into strips. Cut the thin red hot peppers into thirds, and thinly slice the garlic. When the sausages are starting to char, but are only about half cooked, add the peppers, oregano and garlic. Shake the pan to distribute the peppers and coat them with the fat. Return the pan to the broiler.

Broil, stirring often, until the peppers have softened, and the sausages are sizzling really good. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Return to the broiler, and broil, stirring every minute, for a couple of minutes, until the sauce is simmering. Remove and let that sit for a few minutes.

While that is resting, place your thin homemade bread on the lowest shelf, under the broiler, and carefully crisp the crust of the bread.

Serving

To assemble the sandwiches, slice open the bread, and set the sausages in it. Scoop out all the peppers and distribute them evenly between the two sandwiches. Top with the tomato sauce. Finally sprinkle the sauce with lots of grated Parmesan cheese.

Serve your sandwiches with a big tossed salad. I also set out a plate of Freestone pickle wedges. Any good Italian red will be good with these sandwiches, or even a cold beer.