I made this during the minus 16˚ F weather I experience in Beloeil back in January. Beyond Cold! This is a truly warming dish, and combines the spicy richness of a quality house-made sausage with baby potatoes, sweet red and yellow peppers, fresh basil, toasted pine-nuts and the tang of grated parmesan cheese and fresh lemon.
What you’ll need…
2 large spicy italian-style sausage, cut into 1 1/4″ rounds, (house made, chemical free!)
4 slices smoked bacon, cut into thirds
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 each red & yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2″ dice
4 baby potatoes, cut in half, boiled and drained
1 tsp dry italian seasoning mix
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 fresh lemon
2 Tablespoons toasted pine-nuts
Parmesan cheese to taste
fresh basil
Make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go. I would get the potatoes on the stove in boiling, salted water, and cook until just finished, about 8 – 10 minutes. Make sure the water is boiling hard, or the potatoes might break up. If you have fresh pinenuts, get them toasting under the broiler for about 5 minutes, and don’t let them burn! Get a skillet going over medium-high heat, and cook off the bacon. When it’s done, remove and let drain on a paper towel. Add the onion to the pan and soften in the bacon fat, then add the garlic and sausage, and cook covered for about 5 minutes, stirring often to prevent the garlic from burning. Add the peppers, potatoes, and seasoning, cook for another 2 – 3 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste, squeeze in the lemon, and toss with the bacon. Top each dish with the fresh basil, pine-nuts, cheese and enjoy. This is enough for 2 dishes for me…
