Sausage (7 page)
Authors: Victoria Wise
Pittsburgh-Style Sausage Sandwich with Chunky Tomato and Bell Pepper Sauce
Why Pittsburgh? Because James Potenziani, known to all as “Chooch,” is Italian American and grew up in Pittsburgh. He was the master behind the sausage machine at Pig-by-the-Tail. He is also a football person (he always roots for the Steelers), and he devised the Pittsburgh sausage sandwich to celebrate on Super Bowl day. It became a year-round favorite at Pig-by-the-Tail.
SERVES 6 TO 8
Sauce
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 yellow or white onions, halved lengthwise and cut into ½-inch-wide strips
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 green bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut lengthwise into ½-inch-wide strips
2 small red or green chiles, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 3 cups canned plum tomatoes, chopped, with juices
Kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, for cooking
2 pounds
Sweet Italian Sausage
, formed into 1¼-inch balls
6 to 8 Italian or French bread rolls, or 2 baguettes
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bell peppers, chiles, and oregano and sauté until the onions and peppers have softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, salt to taste, and the pepper, decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the meatballs. Add just enough oil to a large sauté pan to film the bottom and place over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, add the sausage balls and brown all around, about 10 minutes. As each batch is done, transfer to a plate.
When the sauce is ready, add the browned sausage balls and continue cooking until the sauce is reduced and the sausages are cooked through and tender, about 20 minutes.
To serve, split the rolls lengthwise. Or, if using baguettes, cut each baguette crosswise into thirds or quarters, and then split the sections lengthwise. Place the bottom halves of the rolls, cut sides up, on individual plates. Divide the sausage balls evenly among the roll bottoms and spoon plenty of sauce over the top. Close the sandwiches and serve right away with lots of napkins.
When I was growing up, fried egg sandwiches were one of my mother’s specialties, and we often had them for lunch on weekends. The sandwiches were made in her New Mexico cooking style: The eggs were turned once and fried until the whites were crisp around the edges and the yolks were well set. Then they were transferred to slices of white bread that had been slathered with mayonnaise, and a lettuce leaf was slipped between the egg and the bread. Here’s my contemporary version of that homey sandwich. Its siren call of melted, oozing cheese and added bonus of sausage bits turn my mom’s simpler lunchtime sandwich into a mini-meal on bread. In keeping with the pizza theme, I call for sweet Italian or Tuscan sausage. But
American Breakfast Sausage
or
Spicy Garlic Sausage
would also do nicely.
SERVES 6
Extra virgin olive oil, for cooking and brushing on bread
½ pound
Sweet Italian Sausage
or
Tuscan Sausage
2 tablespoons butter
6 large eggs
1 (1-pound) loaf
ciabatta
or other rustic Italian bread
6 ounces Monterey jack cheese, coarsely grated
¼ teaspoon chile flakes
6 thin tomato slices, cut in half
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Add just enough oil to a large sauté pan to film the bottom and place over medium heat. Crumble the sausage into chunks and add it to the pan. Cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a plate and set aside in a warm place.
In the same pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook until the whites are firm, about 5 minutes, or until done as you like. Set the pan aside in a warm place with the eggs still in it.
Cut the bread loaf crosswise into thirds, then split each section lengthwise. Place, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Lightly brush the cut sides of the bread with oil, then divide the cheese evenly among them. Sprinkle the chile flakes over the cheese, arrange the tomato slices on the cheese, and then top evenly with the sausage.
Bake until the cheese melts and the bread begins to turn golden around the edges, 7 to 8 minutes.
Place a fried egg atop each “pizza” and serve right away.
There’s almost no turn in Tuscany that doesn’t provide some sensory joy. Driving its curvy roads through low hills gently swelling up from narrow, verdant valleys, you discover olive groves that produce some of the world’s finest olive oil and vineyards that yield some of the world’s most renowned wines. Exploring the region’s old towns and cities on foot, you wind your way through dozens of museums full of famous artworks and wander into back-alley churches and quaint shops stacked with Tuscan treasures. And everywhere, there is fabulous food. The Tuscans have long produced delicious
salumi
, that special form of pork cookery, called
charcuterie
in France, that comprises prosciutto, mortadella,
soppressata,
salamis and other cured meats, along with fresh sausages particular to the region. In this recipe, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella flavor fresh pork sausage to deliver the taste of Tuscany.
MAKES 1 POUND
14 ounces ground pork
2 ounces salt pork, fat part only, minced
¼ cup finely chopped unseasoned olive oil–packed sun-dried tomatoes
⅓ cup lightly packed coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (about 2 ounces)
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed
3 teaspoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste, if needed
Place all the ingredients except the salt in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Cook and taste a small sample, then add the salt if needed. Leave in bulk and shape as directed in individual recipes or stuff into hog casing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using to allow the flavors to blend.
Sauté or grill, or cook as directed in individual recipes. (The uncooked sausage will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; it does not freeze well.)
Arugula Pesto
Minestrone has a long history in Italian cuisine and, not surprisingly, many interpretations. Old tales recount how Roman soldiers lived on a diet of minestrone and chickpeas, a strange assertion since many of the soup’s classic ingredients—tomatoes, potatoes, beans—are New World foods that were not available at the time. By the end of the sixteenth century, the core concept had become a tasty mixture of vegetables, including dried beans, with pasta and/or potatoes. If you can find them, use borlotti (cranberry) beans, a specialty of Tuscany.
Swirling a pesto of arugula, rather than the more prosaic basil, into the minestrone imparts a refreshing change. Other unusual elements in the soup are a tiny spritz of vinegar and the use of shallot instead of garlic. The pesto is also good for dolloping on plain boiled potatoes or a simply cooked fish fillet or chicken breast, or on bruschetta, for serving as an appetizer.
SERVES 6
Pesto
½ cup pine nuts
1 large shallot, cut up
2 cups packed arugula leaves
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Soup
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups
chicken broth
5 cups water
1½ cups cooked dried beans, such as borlotti, cannellini, or Great Northern
1 large waxy potato, such as red, white, or Yukon gold, peeled and cut into neat ½-inch cubes
1 pound
Tuscan Sausage
, formed into cherry tomato–size balls
To make the pesto, in a food processor, combine the pine nuts and shallot and process until very finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Set aside, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To make the soup, in a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until wilted, 2 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, oregano, rosemary, and salt and sauté until the vegetables are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, broth, and water, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender and the broth is richly flavored, about 15 minutes.
Add the potato and sausage balls and continue cooking, uncovered, until the potatoes are just soft enough to mash, 20 to 25 minutes.
To serve, ladle the soup into individual bowls. Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon or so of the pesto. Pass the remaining pesto at the table.
The familiar Polish sausage known as kielbasa was introduced to American cuisine in the neighborhoods of Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, where many Polish immigrants settled during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Nowadays, kielbasa is widely produced commercially and is marketed to food purveyors nationwide. It is usually smoked and sandwiched in a hot dog bun, tucked into a hearty cabbage borscht, or added to a robust
sauerkraut dish
. That is not the whole story, however. Kielbasa is actually the generic term for sausage in Polish and there are many versions. I prefer a fresh, not smoked, sausage, but with a hint of ham to suggest a smoky flavor.
MAKES 1 POUND
½ pound ground pork
6 ounces ground beef or veal
1 ounce mild ham, minced
1 ounce salt pork, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste, if needed
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup full-flavored beer (not dark beer)
Place all the ingredients in a bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended and no longer wet. Cook and taste a small sample, then add more salt if needed. Leave in bulk and shape as directed in individual recipes, stuff into hog casing, or wrap in cheesecloth if using for
Honey-Glazed Polish Sausage
.
Sauté or grill, or cook as directed in individual recipes. (The uncooked sausage will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 week.)
One morning, Penny Brogden, my longtime friend and coworker at Pig-by-the Tail, came dancing into the kitchen, exclaiming, “I did the Polish sausages for dinner last night the best way ever! I glazed them with honey and baked them.” We tried the same preparation on the spot, and she was right. It was a fabulous way to give the ordinary a new polish. We advised customers who purchased Polish sausage to make the dish, too, and it was included in
American Charcuterie
, my book of recipes from Pig-by-the-Tail. If you are not set up for stuffing the sausage into hog casing, form it into links, wrap the links in
cheesecloth
, and refrigerate overnight.
SERVES 4 TO 6
2 pounds
Fresh Polish Sausage
, preferably in links
½ cup aromatic honey, such as orange blossom or thyme flower
3 tablespoons butter
4 large sweet-tart apples such as Fuji or Braeburn (see
On Cooking Apples
), unpeeled, halved, cored, and cut into 1-inch wedges