recipe: italian sausage

this is fast becoming a staple meal here in providence, probably due to the exceptionally high-quality fresh sausage available up on federal hill. i'm thrilled to bite into a rustic sausage and actually see recognizable pieces of shoulder muscle. anyhow, this is one of those staggeringly simple dishes that tons of people seem to fuck up. i couldn't explain why. maybe they're just using cheap ingredients.

assembly:
1lb sweet italian sausage, poked to prevent explosion if it's linked particularly tightly, otherwise don't bother
olive oil
a few peppers, coarsely chopped (i've been getting ones from the lao market down the street - they look like green cayennes, i suppose, but i can't be sure. i don't read lao, and the grandma who runs the produce section doesn't speak english)
a handful of shallots, cleaned and chopped a little
a few cloves of garlic
1/2tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp oregano
about 1/4C wine (i used vermouth tonight, just because it was what i had on hand)
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes, cleaned up and mushed up with their accompanying juice

heat up a little olive oil in your wok/karhai/dutch oven over really hot heat. i know you should be using something with a higher flash point, but i don't. smoke's fine, just don't let it turn into a grease fire. once it's good and hot, add your sausage and sear until it's nice and brown on the outside. harold mcgee has debunked the whole "you sear meat to lock in juices" thing, so you're just doing this for flavor. don't let it scorch, but don't cook it slowly or you'll just make the sausage less tender later. once they're nice and brown, pull them out with tongs and set aside. throw a bit more olive oil in the pan, and toss in your peppers and shallots. cook over hight heat until softened and beginning to caramelize. here too, quicker is better. once they're pretty brown, add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for another minute. don't let the garlic turn into tiny black pellets. deglaze with your wine, dump in the prepped tomatoes, add the sausage back in, let it boil for a few seconds, turn down the heat to very very low, cover with a lid ajar, and walk away. cook for awhile. i don't know, maybe 45 minutes. the sauce should reduce, thicken, and a little oil should rise to the top.

finish:
sugar (only if the tomatoes you used suck)
salt
black pepper
basil or parsley

add your seasonings, garnish, and serve with whatever starch seems appropriate.

serves two, with leftovers.