Who doesn’t love an Italian Sausage Sandwiches With Onions And Peppers? like the ones, you get at the state fair. Well, you don’t have to wait for the fair to come to town any longer. This is my version of Italian Sausage Sandwiches With Onions And Peppers.

A beautifully grilled baguette is the perfect vessel.

Going that extra step of grilling the sausage links gives a nice smokey flavor and the grill marks look great.

Prep Time: 10 minutes (includes poaching sausage)
Cook Time: 24 minutes
Total Time: 34 minutes
Yields 4 sandwiches
Equipment: 1 (10-inch) sauté pan with a tight-fitting lid, 1( 12-inch) sauté pan, indoor grill pan, grill-press, large mixing bowl, mini food processor, chef’s knife

Ingredients:
1 pound (5 links) sweet Italian sausage (substitute hot Italian sausage)
1/4 cup chicken broth, unsalted
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and julienned
1 green bell pepper, seeded and julienned
1 large sweet onion, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 large-size hoagie rolls, buttered and grilled, cut in half
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

Directions:
Using a fork prick holes on both sides of each of the sausage links. In a sauté pan over medium heat add the sausage links. Pour in the chicken broth and cover. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer. Poach the links for about 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and transfer the sausage links to a plate. Set aside.

While the sausage links are poaching. Prepare all the vegetables for this dish placing them all into a large mixing bowl. Keep the minced garlic separate.

In a large sautépan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and red pepper flakes. Add all the vegetables to the pan, stirring occasionally, allow them to start to sweat. Add Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, stir to combine. After about 7 to 10 minutes, once the peppers and onions have softened, add the tomato paste and the minced garlic. Stir to combine allowing the tomato paste to melt and heat through and the garlic becomes soft and fragrant another 1 to 2 minutes.

I prefer the onions and peppers to still have a slight crunch. This is a personal preference. Remove the pan from the heat. Set aside.

Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Turn the overhead fan on.

Get your grill pan screaming hot before placing the sausage links in the pan.  Using a grill-press for even grilling. Grill for 3 minutes per side or until they’re cooked through around 10 to 12 minutes total.

Adjust the heat on the grill pan to medium-low. Cut both hoagie rolls in half. Slice each of the four lengthwise not cutting them completely through splitting them open, spread the butter on each side of all four of the hoagies. Place two of them onto the grill pan again using a grill-press to ensure they toast evenly. This takes only a couple of minutes.

Note: Watch closely, the bread will toast quickly.

To serve: Place a sausage link onto the grilled baguette, spoon on the onions, and peppers. Top with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

There you have it, my Italian Sausage Sandwiches With Onions And Peppers.