Name: Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
Ingredients: 4 mild or hot Italian sausage links; 2 tbsp olive or salad oil; 1 large onion, thinly sliced and separated; 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed; 3 medium sized green or red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips; 1 (15 oz) can Italian-style tomatoes (plum); 1 tbsp each dried basil, sugar, salt and pepper; 4 French rolls or hot dog buns

Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

Time15 minutes

Ingredients

4 mild or hot Italian sausage links
2 tbsp olive or salad oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced and separated
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
3 medium sized green or red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1 (15 oz) can Italian-style tomatoes (plum)
1 tbsp each dried basil, sugar, salt and pepper
4 French rolls or hot dog buns

Directions

Cook the sausages

Cook sausages in large frying pan over medium heat until golden brown.
Remove pan and set aside.

Make the pepper sauce

Add oil, onion, garlic and peppers to drippings.
Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, breaking up with spoon.
Then add basil and sugar.
Add sausages and cook 15 minutes.
Remove cover, increase heat to medium high and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve

Place sausages and tomato sauce in bun and enjoy.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

552Calories

31 gProtein

29 gFat

44 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 14 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Salad	not in our table	0
Hot Dog	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Pepper + basiltop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,294 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Clove + basiltop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,437 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Italian sausage: Provides the main meaty filling and flavour, browned first to build richness in the pan.
Onion: Softens as it cooks, adding sweetness to the sauce.
Bell peppers: Soften during simmering, adding bulk and a mild sweet flavour to the sauce.
Tomatoes: Form the base of the sauce, adding moisture and acidity.
Garlic: Adds aroma and savoury depth to the sauce.

The step that matters

Cook sausages in large frying pan over medium heat until golden brown.. Browning the sausages over medium heat develops flavour through the Maillard reaction and leaves drippings that add richness to the sauce. Cooking too hot can scorch the outside before the centre is cooked through.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, clove, pepper, tomato, plum, basil, sugar):

Capsicumfits better
Eggplantfits better
Carrotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, clove, pepper, tomato, plum, basil, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches