Sausage with Onions and Peppers

This is a great recipe for a weeknight meal or as a meal to prepare over the weekend to use as a leftover during the week as the flavor only intensifies over a few days time and a reheating. It's based on a simple dish I found from Food Network (Giada De Laurentiis) online which I tweaked to my own taste.

Sausages a-splatterin'

Herbs from the garden, veggies from the farmer's market

Strips and slices

Cooked sausages

Garlic cloves - from the Spanish Rojas I harvested last month

Chopped herbs

The sauce, she's a-done!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 sweet Italian sausages
1 red onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
2 red bell peppers, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
4 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
leaves from 1 branch fresh oregano, chopped
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup sweet marsala wine
16 oz canned whole tomatoes (e.g. Muir Glen)
salt
fresh-cracked pepper
pepperoncini

Directions:
Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Once hot, add the sausage and brown on each side, about 20 minutes then remove to set aside. For me, this splattered quite a bit so it might be good to either use a splatter screen or partially cover the skillet while the sausage cooks.
With the oil from the sausages still in the pan, add the onion slices and pepper strips to cook over medium heat. Move the vegetables around while they cook so that they do not burn but so that they do color well and get quite soft. Once they have softened considerably, add the chopped herbs to heat for a minute then add the tomato paste, mixing with the herbs and vegetables.
Pour in the wine, then add the tomatoes to the pan and stir everything to combine thoroughly. Slice the sausages into 2 inch lengths and add into the pan submerging them into the sauce. Bring to a strong simmer then cover to cook for about 20-30 minutes, or as long as you time for.

We served this with some sliced crusty Italian bread but it would go great with some cooked pasta as well.