Baguette and Sausage

courtesy of Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Travel

photographer: fredpallu/flicker

baguettes at a boulangerie

baguette and sausage, with mixed pepper and boiler onion

appliances

cutting board

long cutting knife for bread

baking pan (optional: tin foil)

frying pan

large spoon or spatula for frying pan

fork

ingredients

1 natural italian sausage

1/2 small boiler onion, chopped

1/2 handful of frozen mixed peppers

about one tablespoon olive oil

(adjust quantities per sausages prepared)

additional condiments/honey mustard and ketchup

procedure

1.  preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

3.  put your sausage(s) in the baking pan, and put in the oven.  turn over after about 10-15 minutes - the sausage will stick a bit to the bottom of the pan - so pry it gently with the fork and spoon together (or two spoons).  it should be nicely browned on that side.  return to oven for about another 10-15 minutes.  note that these times are very rough as sausages vary in their cooking requirements.  so check with your butcher or sausage company as to how long your sausage must cook, and how you discern sausage "readiness" for consumption.

3.  while your sausage is cooking, put olive oil in the frying pan at a low-medium heat, and add your chopped onion.  stir frequently for about 2-3 minutes.  then add your frozen peppers (i wouldn't put them in together at the beginning because frozen products have water which will intefere with the browning of the other vegetable).  keep stirring until they're slightly browned and softened, then turn off your flame.

4.  slice your baguette into the appropriate number of pieces for receiving a sausage.  don't cut the baguette all the way open.  leave it closed at one end so you have a way of catching all the messy ingredients.

5.  when sausage is ready, put it in the baguette, add any condiments like honey mustard and ketchup, and smother with your onion and peppers.

enjoy!  serve up with a nice glass of red wine or an ice cold beer in a chilled mug.  light some candles and set your table elegantly!

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer: Kaihsu Tai

sausages seen in covered market, Oxford

additional thoughts

this is such an easy, enjoyable meal to prepare, if you have a 1/2 hour of time (or more if your sausages require more cooking time - again, check with your butcher or sausage company). the idea in this recipe cuts the usual cooking oil even lower - and the cleaning up afterwards - while giving you a grill effect with your meat.  for even more clean-up freedom, use a piece of tin foil. 

sausages have come a long way over time and there are some lovely natural meat varieties on the market - with natural casings, as this recipe obviously calls for.  i do not like to use sausages with nitrites because studies have shown that nitrates cause cancer in lab animals.

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer: JayMGoldberg

a recently blossomed flower

on a Quadrato d'Asti Giallo bell pepper plant

 

 

this recipe is great with fresh peppers, but i mean to share yet another convenience of having frozen, mixed varieties on hand to add a little economical, nutritious, and last-minute extra zest to your creations without having to run to the store. 

if you do use fresh peppers, chop and put them into the frying pan with the onion from the beginning.

you can use any sort of yellow or white onion.  i chose boilers because I just happened to find a nice bunch at the local market.  the best buy on onions that day, and they worked out well on baguette and natural italian sausage.