Not your average Sausage & Pepper's Pasta
+ a Basil oil recipe
Sausage and Peppers is an iconic Italian-American dish made from charred sweet peppers and onions and Italian sausage—either sweet or hot. Choose your own adventure. This pasta is heavily inspired by the flavors of this dish, but in an unexpected way!
Rather than eating the peppers and onions whole, I blend them into a creamy sauce that lusciously coats al dente pasta. As for the sausage, it’s usually cut up into big bites, but to compliment the pasta, I opt for small crumbles that get nice and crispy (my dad calls this savory candy.) To brighten it all up and add some freshness, I finish it with some basil oil, which, although it sounds fancy, it’s SUPER easy to prepare…I love making it in a bigger batch and having it in the fridge to put on any and EVERYTHING from eggs to pizza to soups and more.
Although, I pitch this as a great holiday or hosting pasta dish there’s nothing wrong with making it even just on a weeknight for one…😉
Full recipe below and PDF print out at the end :)
Sausage & Peppers Pasta + Basil Oil
Pasta Ingredients:
2 large red bell peppers or 1 jar of roasted red peppers drained
1 small white onion, chopped into large dice
1 head of garlic, top trimmed
½ cup heavy cream
1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, removed from casing
1 lb pasta of choice, I like rigatoni here
Olive oill
Salt and pepper to taste
Pecorino romano, for garnish
Basil Oil:
2-3 cups packed basil oil
1 cup neutral oil (such as avocado)
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Add the sliced onion and garlic, cut side down, to a sheet tray. Drizzle with oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. Place in the oven until the onions and garlic are soft and starting to brown, about 20 minutes.
Char your red peppers over an open flame or broil until the skin is entirely burned. Immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl and cover it with plastic wrap tightly. Allow to steam for 10-15 minutes.
Combine the basil and oil in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer for 1-2 minutes, then turn the heat off. Pour into a strainer lined with a coffee filter and allow to drip out. Store in the fridge for up to a month.
In a large skillet, add a touch of olive oil, then crumble in the sausage. Cook over medium heat, breaking up pieces with a wooden spoon until cooked through and crispy, for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Keep the rendered oil in the pan.
Once the peppers have slightly cooled, peel them (with the help of water…keep a bowl to dip your hands to clean as you go), then deseed the peppers and cut them into strips.
Add the roasted peppers, onions, garlic, and heavy cream to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Cook your pasta of choice until 1 minute under al dente, then transfer to the pan with the rendered sausage oil. Toss the pasta. Add in the pepper puree, a touch of pasta water and stir well to emulsify. Add in ¾ of the sausage and toss well.
Plate the pasta and garnish with more crumbled sausage, black pepper, freshly grated pecorino, and basil oil.
ENJOY :)
Have a question? Feel free to comment below or send me a message!!!
Tried it out? Send me a picture and leave a review!! I love to see how your recreations turn out ❤️
When you say 'packed basil oil' do you mean basil leaves?