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"I am making what my husband calls the greatest of all time—well, just what he's had of mine—sausage, peppers and onions," says Rach. "They're kind of sweet and sour. In Italian, that's called agrodolce. Agrodolce means sweet and sour, literally. ... Often, I pierce sausages and simmer in one-eighth inch of water to gently cook through and let the casing crisp. Here, we work in reverse. We brown the sausages and then braise them in a sweet and tangy sauce with the peppers and onions."  

It's a wonderful, hearty combo and perfect for this G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) episode. Serve with charred bread rubbed with garlic, drizzled with EVOO and sprinkled with flaky salt. 

For more recipes from our G.O.A.T. episode, check out John's Roman Holiday Cocktail, which he created to go with Rach's dish, and Jacques Pepin's Chicken Ballotine Stuffed with Sausage

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ pounds Italian sweet sausage with fennel (thin rope or links)
  • 3 tablespoons EVOO, divided
  • 4-5 large Cubanelle or darker-green Italian sweet long peppers or 12-16 small, green sweet frying peppers
  • 3 small red onions, thinly sliced
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1-1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • A drizzle of aged thick balsamic vinegar or balsamic drizzle
  • 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste or tomato paste
  • 1 cup semi-dried tomatoes, drained
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 cup stock or bone broth, chicken or beef

Yield

Serves: 4 to 6

Preparation

Heat a large cast-iron skillet or deep large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. 

Rust-Resistant Cast Iron

Rust-Resistant Cast Iron

Rachael Ray
$60

Pierce skins of sausages, brown the sausages in 1 tablespoon of oil for 7 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, and remove. Reduce the heat slightly, add remaining oil, then add peppers and onions. Soften 5 minutes, then add garlic, salt and pepper and sugar and stir a minute or so. Add vinegar, paste and semi-dried tomatoes and combine. Add wine, reduce to one-third, then add stock and reduce heat to simmer. Return sausages and cook through and reduce and thicken sauce, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve with bread.