Sausage and Peppers Fettuccine

So I had peppers, I had onions, I had sausage. It seemed like a sausage and pepper sandwich might be in order. But what I didn't have has bread.

I decided to take the idea and instead make a pasta sauce (because what I did have was a package of fresh pasta).

Here's the ingredients:

4 hot Italian chicken sausages
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
6 clove garlic, sliced thin (I forgot these in the photo)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
red pepper flakes to taste
2 Tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock, or water (also not pictured as it was a last minute addition)
1 pound fresh fettuccine
6 leaves fresh basil, julienned
grated Parmesan cheese

To start I fired up the grill and cooked the sausages through. Once they were cooked through and then rested for a couple of minutes I sliced them, then set them aside. Now if you are not a winter time griller like me, the sausages could be fried up inside or the sausage could be removed from its casings and browned in the same pan just before adding the peppers.

While the sausages were on the grill, back inside I heated a little olive oil in a large saute pan.

When it was hot, I added the peppers and onions (and I should have added the garlic, but I forgot)...

...and let this cook until the onions were cooked softened and translucent, which took just under 10 minutes.

I added the garlic, oregano and pepper flakes and cooked while stirring for about thirty seconds.

Next I added the tomato paste and cooked this for another minute or so (this caramelizes the tomato paste just a bit, making it sweeter).

Finally I added the white wine and the chicken stock...

...and the cooked sausages...

...and let the whole mixture simmer gently for about fifteen minutes.

While it simmered I cooked the fettuccine according to the package instructions. When it was cooked I drained it, saving a bit of the pasta water and then added the cooked pasta to the sausage mixture. It seemed a little thick so I added a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water.

I portioned out the mixture onto a couple of plates (with enough left for a hearty lunch) and then sprinkled each with a little basil and Parmesan.

This came out pretty good. Sweet and spicy. The husband picked out all the garlic (without even trying it, hmph) but he said he liked it too. I wouldn't have minded a few more pepper flakes, but over all I really enjoyed this. It's definitely going on the to be made again list.