Cooking Italian Sausage in the Oven

Sausages are an integral part of Italian cuisine. There are many varieties of Italian sausages available in a good Italian deli, and they can be used for making different mouth-watering dishes. It adds a unique flavor to stews and soups and can make even the most simplest of dishes taste divine. With a bit of creativity and ingenuity you too can learn all about cooking Italian sausage and make the most delicious meals. One of the simplest way to cook sausages is in the oven.

Italian Sausage Recipes

Pasta with Italian Sausage
A great way of cooking Italian sausage is to use it in a soup for a richly flavored delicious soup. This recipe is very easy and versatile as you can use whatever vegetables you have at hand. You can use any short pasta like farfalle, rigatoni or penne for cooking Italian sausage pasta.

Ingredients

• 12 hot or sweet turkey Italian sausage
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 1 cups baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

Method

Remove the casings from the sausages and place them in a roasting tray with a bit of olive oil. Roast the sausages in a moderately hot oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the sausages from oven when they have browned and add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes and penne pasta, dried basil. Place the roasting tray back into the oven and cook at a low heat setting. Remove the roasting tray from oven and add the baby spinach leaves until it has wilted. Serve this soup in individual soup bowls and sprinkle it with fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese.

Italian Sausage with Scallops
For the best results use fresh scallops and chorizo sausages which is a kind of spicy sausage made of pork meat and many different spices. This dish can be prepared under 20 minutes and makes a great appetizer.

Ingredients

• 12 chorizo sausages
• 400 g small scallops
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

Slice the chorizo sausages into thick discs and cook them in the oven without any oil in a shallow baking tin. After some time the chorizo will give out oil. Remove the baking tin from the oven and take out the roasted chorizo sausage into a bowl. Add the scallops into the baking tin which contains the chorizo oil. Put the baking tin back into the oven and cook the scallops for two minutes. Now add the fried sausage back to the baking tin and add lemon juice and dry white wine. Let the liquid reduce to half before removing the baking tin from the oven. Serve the chorizo and scallops with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Potato and Sausage Omelet
This dish is the best way of cooking Italian sausage and is a cross between a frittata and a tortilla.

Ingredients

• 4 small potatoes, cut into chunks
• 6 eggs
• 6 sausages, cut into thick slices
• teaspoon sea salt
• teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Method

Place the potatoes into a saucepan filled with water along with sea salt and simmer until it has cooked. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Meanwhile, crack the eggs in a bowl and whisk it with a fork adding salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat a ovenproof large frying pan and fry the sausages and potatoes in the olive oil. Remove them with the help of a slotted pan when cooked. Now pour the beaten eggs into the dish and add the cooked potatoes and sausages. Spread the egg so that is even and place the pan into the oven until the omelet is golden brown on top. Serve the omelet with a green salad.

Slow Cooked Italian Sausage Dish
This classic slow cooked Italian sausage recipe is a favorite all over the world. The addition of green and red peppers makes this dish a visually appealing one.

Ingredients

• 6 hot Italian sausages
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 2 red onions, sliced thinly
• 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic,minced
• teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

In a large roasting pan, add the sausages and pour a bit of oil over them. Now cover the sausages with the sliced onions, sliced red and green bell peppers, minced garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, fennel seeds, salt and freshly ground pepper. Place the roasting tin in the oven and cook for 5 to 7 hours until the liquid has evaporated and the sausages and vegetables are tender. Serve this fragrant sausage and peppers recipe over pasta or polenta.

So these were some ideas on cooking Italian sausage. If you are wondering how long to cook Italian sausage, well most varieties of sausages needs only two to three minutes to be cooked through. Avoid overcooking Italian sausages as they will lose their juiciness and softness. Now, that you know how to cook Italian sausage, you can use them for cooking many different types of stews and other dishes.