Spetzofai (Greek Sausage and Peppers)
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For once, I’m bringing you a dish with lots of peppers, NONE of which are poblano or jalapeno. After the last several weeks, where my blog stats indicated that the vast majority of people landed here by searching for something related to the word “poblano,” I felt like I better post a Greek recipe soon, so I don’t lose my Greek cred. 😉
Spetzofai is a very simple, rustic Greek dish of Greek sausage (loukaniko), peppers, and tomatoes. Â Greek loukaniko is preferred for this recipe, but if you can’t find it, any sausage you want to use will be just fine. Loukaniko is usually flavored with orange zest (among many other herbs and spices) and my favorite type is a spicier version, one that we often just sliced into coins and fried up as appetizers before family dinners. (Yum.)
You can vary the heat level based on your own tastes, be in through the use of different peppers, using a spicier sausage, or even just something like crushed red pepper flakes. But no matter what, I always recommend a hunk of crusty bread for sopping up the sauce and some Greek cheese, of course.
Spetzofai
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 – 2 lbs. loukaniko or other sausage, sliced into 2″ pieces
2 red bell peppers, cut into strips
2 green bell peppers, cut into strips
1 banana pepper, sliced into rings
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup water or broth
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once hot, brown the sausage on all sides (in batches, if necessary), and then remove to a plate. Pour off most of the fat.
To the pot, add the peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to get tender. Stir in the garlic and oregano, and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
Add the red wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and broth or water, along with salt and pepper to taste. Put the sausage back into the pot.
Bring the mixture to a low boil, and then cover with a lid. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is thickened and the sausages are cooked.
This made me hungry just reading it. I’ve only discovered your blog today and I love it. I seemingly have several years of archives to go through…
I went out on a date with a Greek boy this weekend and I totally felt confident talking about Greek food because of YOU. I kept thinking “elly would be so proud!”. 😛
Given how much us Italians love sausage and peppers also, it’s really interesting to see this variation! Sounds delicious.
It’s amazing, it could be me cooking this recipe. I make it exactly like this. How did you know??? May I repost your lovely recipe into my own site, please?
I bet most recipes are pretty close! 🙂 You can put it on your site, so long as you link the post back to mine. Thanks.
Oh man, this looks so good. I could definitely be in a dinner like this!
Elly, one of my fave Greek dishes…love a good Spetsofai!
I am totally making this as soon as fasting is over. I am mad I didn’t make it before as it’s the perfect winter dish. Good thing it stays cold in PDX for awhile.
hi elly,
when do you put the cooked sausage back into the dutch oven? i am making this tomorrow. yummy
also, for a challenged cook, do you have a recipe to make cheese pies using crescent triangles? a friend of mine used to make them using that but i don’t have the recipe. thanks
Hi Vlora. You add the sausage back in when you put in the tomatoes, etc. I added it into the directions – thanks for catching my oversight. I have a recipe for cheese pies using phyllo. You can find it here: http://ellysaysopa.com/2010/11/15/tyropites-greek-cheese-pies/ I’ve never tried it with crescent dough, but you could try. I have made them with puff pastry and they are really easy and good that way.
Comforting, flavoursome and one of my favourite Greek meals…loukaniko is just the best!
Looks great! Where in Chicago do you get your Greek sausage? Does Paulina Meat Market have it?
I’m not sure if Paulina has it or not (I don’t remember them having it when I lived nearby but I’ve since moved, so maybe?) They do have it in Greektown (can’t remember the name of the store but there’s really only one food store), Lincoln Quality Meat Market in Lincoln Square and at HarvesTime on Lawrence. This time I used the one from LQMM which was good, but I wanted it to have more heat.
I am addicted to the Greek sausage with the orange peels in it. Greta dish as usual!