Sausages with caramelized onions and peppers

Serves 1

Adding a few bits of magic to this Euro-American classic makes it all the better. The recipe is simple and doesn't take long to make from start to finish, making it perfect for a quick lunch or dinner on days you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Creating the Magic: Adding maple syrup to the traditional format allows the onions and peppers to caramelize sooner and taste a little sweeter. Scraping the fond from the bottom of the skillet as you go adds another layer of richness to the flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• ½ yellow, white, or red onion, pointed ends and dried skin removed, sliced lengthwise into eight sections
•  ½ red bell pepper seeded and cored, or equivalent fire-roasted bell pepper from the jar, sliced into 8 sections
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste
•  1-2 uncooked or pre-cooked sausages of your choice
• Mustard of your choice

Method

1. Place butter into a 10" skillet and set heat to medium.
2. Immediately, while the pan is heating, add onions, bell peppers, maple syrup, salt and pepper, and sausages. Begin to toss the mixture so everything gets coated with the butter and maple syrup. Sauté for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook an additional 10-20 minutes. Continually move the mixture around every few minutes so it cooks evenly. Be sure to scrape the fond (browned bits) from the bottom of the pan as you go so they become part of the mixture. Keep turning the sausages so each cooks evenly on all sides.
3. When the edges of the onions are brown and the internal temperature of the sausages reads 160⁰F on an instant read thermometer, plate with the mustard and serve.

Notes

• Making this for 2 or more people is as simple as increasing the ingredient portions exponentially. Use a larger skillet for multiple portions so there's plenty of room to spread out the food while it's cooking.
• Make it a sausage sampler by mixing up what sausages you use in a single session. Chicken, pork, beef, lamb, bratwurst, spicy Italian - the list goes on and on.
• Sliced grapes make a nice addition as well.
• Be sure not to pierce the sausage with the thermometer too soon, or you'll cause them to lose their moisture as they cook.
• Having too much heat in the pan will cause the maple syrup to burn to the pan. You don't want to do that.

TM/February 2021

A preview from the upcoming book, Creating the Magic in Food.