Name: Greek Sausage And Peppers In Red Wine & Tomato Sauce (Spetsofai)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 500 grams / 1.1 lb Greek or Italian pork fennel sausage (cut into 1-inch /2.5 cm chunks); 1 small onion (cut into 1-inch /2.5 cm chunks); 1 medium-sized green bell pepper (cut into 1-inch /2.5 cm chunks); 2 small or 1 large tomato (cut into 1-inch /2.5 cm chunks); 80 ml sweet red wine; fresh parsley (chopped); olive oil; hot red pepper flakes

Jump to Recipe

Spetsofai or Greek Sausage And Peppers is a traditional local specialty dish from the area of Pelion Greece. Delicious Greek pork fennel sausages, cooked with large chunks of onions and peppers, in a fresh tomato & sweet red wine sauce.

This dish takes under 30 minutes to make. It's super quick, super easy, and bursts with flavor.

You can add a nice spiciness to it by adding hot pepper flakes. If you're not into spicy dishes you can leave them out. I must tell you though they go great with this saucy sausage dish.

What's A Greek Sausage?

Greek sausage or 'Loukaniko' is just like Italian sausage. Made both with pork meat and similar spices and flavoring like fennel which is what's used in this recipe also.

So if you can't find Greek sausage just buy some Italian as its the same thing really.

A Favorite Greek Meze

Let's talk Greek Meze. Aka small portions of food that are very strong in flavor to accompany alcohol. Most favored drinks by Greeks to accompany their Meze is Ouzo &Tsipouro.

Ouzo is mostly served with seafood Meze usually marinated or cured fish or octopus for example. Tsipouro is very strong and goes best with saucy Meze plates (like this one).

So if you want to truly enjoy this hearty Greek dish grab a glass of your favorite alcohol and lots of bread to dip in its delicious spicy sauce!

How To Make Greek Sausage And Peppers

Spetsofai is all made in one pan. First, you heat a good splash of olive oil over high heat and cook the sausage (that's cut into bite-sized pieces) on all sides. Set aside, and in the same pan add another splash of olive oil and cook the veggies (onions, peppers).

Transfer sausages back to the pan, pour in the wine and fresh tomatoes. Wait for 3-4 minutes for wine to evaporate and tomatoes to slightly drain.

Add just a small drop of water, the parsley and hot pepper flakes (to your liking), and cook covered for 10-15 minutes until a thick sauce has formed.

How Do You Know Sausage Is Cooked...

Fresh sausages that are made with ground meat like the Greek fennel sausages, used in this recipe or Italian sausages, are a lot different than pre-cooked ones you buy from the store.

And if by any chance you're over-precautious in matters, like safety cooking temperatures (like I am), then you should know that fresh sausage has to reach an internal temperature of 160-165 F / 71°C (for beef or pork sausage) to be safe to consume.

-You may check out this article on all the different types of sausages.

Side Dish To Serve With Sausage And Peppers (Spetsofai)

Any type of boiled rice, or plain french fries, are great to serve with this dish. But if you're looking for something fancier, then you should definitely give it a go with these Greek yogurt mashed potatoes.

In most Eastern countries serving yogurt with spicy, saucy dishes is a must! Since it adds a nice hint of freshness to the dish and the perfect contrast to its hotness. And these Greek yogurt mashed potatoes make the ideal side dish to Spetsofai!

Recipe