...with onion and garlic, herbs, tomato sauce, and gnocchi. Sausages and peppers seems to be an Italian-American dish, not really Italian. I've never seen it on menus in France, at least not that I can remember. However, I see recipes for a similar preparation called rougail saucisses, something people make and eat on the islands of Réunion (a French overseas département) and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
For this version, the peppers came from a friend's vegetable garden. She was really nice to share them with us. The green peppers are mild; the red pepper is a piment d'Espelette, which is medium hot and comes from Basque Country in SW France. I seeded and sliced all the peppers and then cooked them in some olive oil with sliced onions and garlic before pouring on the tomato sauce. The gnocchi came from the supermarket. They're dumplings made with mashed potato, flour, and egg, and just have to be heated up in a frying pan.
The sausages also came from the supermarket. They're basically saucisses de Toulouse, which are plain (not smoked), plump pork sausages. These had herbs in them. Walt cooked them on the barbecue grill. The tomato sauce is not home-made, but store-bought. It's purée de tomates — just tomatoes, salt, and citric acid. I had bought some when it wasn't clear how large our garden tomato crop would turn out to be this year. The herbs are dried oregano (from our yard) and dried thyme from the store.
The sausages also came from the supermarket. They're basically saucisses de Toulouse, which are plain (not smoked), plump pork sausages. These had herbs in them. Walt cooked them on the barbecue grill. The tomato sauce is not home-made, but store-bought. It's purée de tomates — just tomatoes, salt, and citric acid. I had bought some when it wasn't clear how large our garden tomato crop would turn out to be this year. The herbs are dried oregano (from our yard) and dried thyme from the store.
P.S. Yesterday morning Walt was out on the terrasse (our front porch) and saw a badger (un blaireau) on the side of the road just outside our front gate. I've seen badgers in the vineyard a few times, but from a distance. One of our neighbors told me a few years ago that she often saw a very big badger on the road, early in the morning, when she was driving down the hill through the woods toward town. The one we saw yesterday was a small badger. I hope it wasn't injured or ill. It disappeared into the neighbors' hedge after just a couple of minutes. I had time to take this photo.
The closest I ever was to a badger was when I used to shave. I explain. A badger, in French is a blaireau. And blaireau is the name of a shaving brush made of badger hair. QED
ReplyDeleteI used to have that kind of blaireau. I wonder if anybody still shaves that way.
DeleteMaybe the old guard! But with the advent of electric shavers it became obsolete.
DeleteGreat sighting. I've never seen a badger in daylight. I'll bet it was foraging for fallen fruit.
ReplyDeleteSeveral times over the years, I've seen badgers early in the morning, just before sunrise, running through the vineyard.
DeleteRougail Saucisses et riz grains (rice always served with lentils or beans) -- our son made this for family dinner a couple of weeks ago. So good. Memories of our trip to La Réunion back in 2013 when he got married, there.
ReplyDeleteWell, one of the places I would like to see in my life is Réunion. Now I have a specific reason to go there. What sausages did your son use?
DeleteWhat a cute animal! I don't think I've ever seen a badger. Your lunch looks wonderful. Is the neighbor that gave you the peppers the one who was moving away last Spring?
ReplyDeleteNo, the neighbor who gave us the peppers is an American friend who lives 5 miles upriver from us. The woman across the street who is trying to sell her house is not having a lot of luck, given the current circumstances.
DeleteI don’t know anyone other than myself who is allergic to peppers. They always add such great color and, I’m sure, great taste to meals. So glad you got a good shot of the badger. I’ve never seen one, in person.
ReplyDeleteMy mother, who you met that one time, was deathly allergic to peppers as well as potatoes and tomatoes.
DeleteI’ve been wondering too about your neighbor’s house that was for sale.
ReplyDeleteSee my comment to Evelyn above...
DeleteSausage, peppers, and onions are a favorite around here too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the badger photo and tale.
Most of the badgers I have seen have sadly been road kill. They seem to succumb more than most other animals around us. How lucky to see one in daylight.
ReplyDeleteThe local animals who fare the worst when it comes to crossing roads are the red squirrels, I think. I have seen badger carcasses on the roads too, however.
DeletePiment d'espélette made me think of piperade au thon that I used to enjoy at the Basque restaurant, rue de Lille à Paris. It doesn't seem to be there anymore.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember a Basque restaurant in that neighborhood, but I do remember having a good dinner with Walt in an African restaurant over there years ago, either on the rue de Lille or the rue de Verneuil. I wonder it that African restaurant is still there. There's another Basque restaurant on the rue François Bonvin in the 15th, Le Troquet.
DeleteFor anybody who doesn't know, Espelette is a village in the Pyrenees (or the foothills) in French Basque country. Here's a link to some information about Espelette in French. The sort of medium-hot peppers called piments d'Espelette are of course South American in origin, but they seem to grow particularly well in Espelette and other parts of Basque country. I understand they're grown in California now as well.
En fait, il s'agissait de l'Auberge basque, rue de Verneuil. Il semble qu'elle n'existe plus.
DeleteLe Troquet se trouve près de chez moi. J'y ai déjeuné avec Walt et Cheryl, il y a plusieurs années. Je ne savais pas que c'était un restaurant basque.
Regarde ceci que j'ai trouvé sur le site du Figaro.
DeleteElizabeth David had a recipe for "Saucisses à la Navarraise", only with chorizo, though I see no reason why it couldn't be done with Toulouse or any other decent sausages:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/203480/sausages-with-sweet-peppers-and
Thanks. I'm pretty sure I have that ED book in my collection. I'll look for it today.
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