Sweet Italian Sausage Popovers are one of my “go-to” appetizers whenever I’m throwing a party. They’re great for Steve and me when we want something to snack on while watching TV.

These little popovers are so delicious. The possibilities are endless: sweet or savory, it just depends on what ingredients you want to use.

A little history about the difference between Popovers and Yorkshire pudding, Yorkshire pudding is commonly associated with Northern England and was likely created in the mid-18th century. It was often made with an open fire beneath roasting meat, allowing it to capture the rich, warm fat drippings. Today, Yorkshire pudding is made in a separate pan greased with meat dripping or beef fat. This gives it a more savory flavor and slightly denser texture than a buttery, flaky popover. Yorkshire pudding is a pastry with a light, golden, crispy crust that opens to a steamy, eggy, having pockets of air.

What Yorkshire puddings and popovers share are their distinctive golden crusts and light and fluffy characteristics. In both cases, the batter is beaten vigorously to create tiny air pockets that end up trapped by the gluten in the flour and the protein of the eggs. The batter is then poured into a well-oiled pan and placed in an oven set at high temperature – 425 to 450 degrees F. At that heat, the air bubbles in the batter coalesce and, because of the batter’s high liquid-to-flour ratio, steam builds up and causes the top of the crust to rise, creating that distinctive airy interior. With popovers, the crust filled with that air pocket flips over the top, giving the pastry its name.

A popover is considered the American version of Yorkshire pudding. Similarly, it is a thin-crusted airy pastry with an eggy interior, although it’s not typically made with meat drippings. While there is no documented history of when cooks first started making popovers in the U.S., the first mention of them in cookbooks was in 1876. Popovers are generally enjoyed any time of day. For breakfast, they can be buttered and layered with jams or jellies. For brunch or lunch, they can be filled with savory things, like I’m doing for this recipe.

Instead of lining a pan with beef fat as you would for Yorkshire pudding, the pan for popovers is either greased with butter or melted butter poured into the bottom of the individual tins.

Let me show you how easy this dish is to make.

Prep Time: 15 to 18 minutes (includes preparing sausage mixture, and batter)
Cook Time: 10 to 12 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 24 popovers
Equipment: 2 muffin tins, 1 (12-inch) sautè pan, 2 rimmed sheet pans, blender

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (5 links)
1 sweet onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of fresh basil, finely chopped
1 (15-ounce) package of frozen corn, thawed, use half for this recipe
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, plus extra for topping
2 tablespoons of Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Batter:
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheatovento400-degrees F.
In a large sautè pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and the sausage. Using a wooden spoon start to break up the sausage in the pan. Cook the sausage until it’s no longer pink, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the onions, diced red bell pepper, minced garlic, Kosher salt. And fresh ground black pepper. Cook together until the veggies are soft and become golden brown from picking up all the bits from the bottom of the pan, another 5 minutes. Remember, that’s all great flavor. You don’t want to lose any of that extra flavor.

Next, add half a package of thawed frozen corn, for more color and sweetness. Stir that through and let the heat just warm up the corn. Lastly, off the heat, add chopped fresh basil. That’s it, the filling is ready. Transfer the sausage mixture to a plate lined with a paper towel, allowing any excess grease to drain. Moving on to the batter.

The Batter:
You want to have all the ingredients at room temperature to ensure the batter has a smooth consistency. In a blender, add the eggs, whole milk, all-purpose flour, Kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Blend until smooth

Funny thing. I have a measuring spoon for a “pinch” that I bought in San Francisco last year.

Anyway, the picture above is what the batter will look like when you’re done. Next, spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray to ensure the popovers will come out easily.

Spray each of the muffin tins with a non-stick cooking spray. Place a tablespoon or two of the sausage filling in the bottom of each one of the muffin tins. Oh did I forget to mention that there’s cheese? Yes, shredded Mozzarella. Finally, top each one with a little cheese.

Carefully spoon the batter into each of the muffin tins until they are filled to the top.

Set the two muffin tin pans onto two rimmed sheet pans. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, watching over them carefully. Each oven may vary slightly so keep your eye on them, they cook quickly.

You can see they rise well, and they do come out easily. Carefully remove popovers from the muffin tins. Transfer the Sweet Italian Sausage Popovers to a large serving platter. Sprinkle the tops with a little more of the shredded Mozzarella cheese and some freshly chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These little Sweet Italian Sausage Popovers are so delicious and a hit in my house. Sweet or savory the possibilities are endless.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/

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