Pressed Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwiches

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Sweet Italian sausages get browned first, then the peppers and onions cook down slowly in the rendered fat until they're jammy and almost sweet. Everything goes into a sturdy roll with melted mozzarella and cool tangy goat cheese, then gets pressed under a heavy pan so the juices soak into the bread instead of running down your arm.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb sweet Italian sausage links (about 6 links)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 large yellow onions, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley

• 4 sturdy Italian hero rolls or ciabatta rolls, 7 to 8 inches each
• 6 oz low-moisture mozzarella, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 oz soft goat cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for brushing the rolls
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Pat the sausages dry. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook, turning every 3 to 4 minutes, until deeply browned on all sides, 12 to 14 minutes. They do not need to be cooked through yet. Transfer to a plate.
2. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of fat from the skillet (if the sausages were lean, add the remaining tablespoon of oil to make up the difference). Do not wipe the pan — the browned bits are the whole point.
3. Add the peppers, onions, 1 teaspoon salt, the oregano, and the red pepper flakes. Stir to coat everything in the fat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the vegetables have slumped and released their liquid.
4. Uncover, add the sliced garlic, and continue cooking over medium-low, stirring occasionally, for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are golden and jammy and the peppers are completely soft with no crunch left. If the pan looks dry or the bottom starts to scorch, add a splash of water.
5. Nestle the sausages back into the vegetables along with any juices from the plate. Pour in the wine, scrape the bottom of the pan, cover, and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the sausages register 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Stir in the vinegar, taste, and add salt and black pepper as needed. Stir in the basil.
6. Transfer the sausages to a cutting board and slice each one lengthwise almost in half so it opens flat like a book. Leave the peppers in the warm pan.
7. Heat the oven to 400°F. Split the rolls, leaving a hinge on one side, and pull out a little of the soft interior crumb if the rolls are very bready. Brush the cut sides with the tablespoon of olive oil and toast on a sheet pan, cut side up, for 4 to 5 minutes, until lightly golden.
8. Spread the goat cheese thickly on the top half of each roll. Scatter a third of the mozzarella across the bottom halves, lay in the butterflied sausages (1 1/2 links per sandwich), then pile on a generous heap of peppers and onions, spooning a tablespoon of the pan juices over the bread. Top with the remaining mozzarella.
9. Return the open sandwiches to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes, just until the mozzarella melts. Close each sandwich, wrap it tightly in parchment or foil, and set them on a sheet pan.
10. Lay a second sheet pan or a cutting board on top of the wrapped sandwiches and weight it with a heavy skillet or a few cans. Press for 5 to 8 minutes off the heat — this is what drives the juices into the bread. Unwrap, cut each in half on a sharp diagonal, and serve with the extra peppers alongside.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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