A rustic spicy Greek dish made with thick country sausages and peppers in a rich tomato sauce.. Perfect over a glass of red wine or tsipouro! Paired with salty kefalotyri cheese or tangy feta, lots of crusty bread, to dig in all the delicious sauce, it is guaranteed to warm you up during the cold winter’s days.
Spetsofai is a Greek dish, one can find in many variations. The famous spetsofai from Pelio contains aubergines, while in most areas, it is prepared with green or multicoloured mild bell peppers, or spicy peppers hot enough to make your eyes tear!
Tip: If using mild sausages, spice it up with some red hot chilli peppers and hot paprika and be generous with the seasoning. If using spicy and salty sausages, then use mild peppers and watch out the seasoning. Enjoy!
To prepare this delicious Greek dish, place a saucepan over high heat, add one tbsp of olive oil and sauté the sausages, until nicely coloured. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on some kitchen paper and leave them aside.
Into the same pan, add the rest of the olive oil, the chopped onion and season with freshly ground pepper; sauté for a minute. Add the garlic and tomato paste and sauté for one more minute. Add the peppers and continue sautéing.
Deglaze with the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pan, with all the delicacies, and wait for it to evaporate. Then add the sugar, the canned tomatoes, a cup of water, the herbs and spices, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 25-30 minutes with the lid on, until the peppers tenderise.
Add the sausages and cook a little bit longer, until the sauce thickens. Check for seasoning; if you’re using too spicy or salty sausages, you’ll probably won’t need to add any salt or pepper.
Serve while still hot with some crusty bread aside or as a main dish with basmati rice. Enjoy!
Depends where you are shopping at. In Greece these are branded as traditional Greek sausages and are flavoured depending on their origin (Ipiros etc). Abroad, your best bet would be a local greek deli to get the original saucages – alternatively you can try any sausage that you really fancy, but be mindful that it needs to be spicy (not in the hot sense but with a lot of spices) to bring out the flavour on this dish
hi im in the uk and was wondering which sausages to buy i might speak to my butcher as him to prep me some I am loving all these recipes Eli i am making moussaka today but cant wait to try more of your recipes through the months
I usually use hot, mild or sweet Italian sausage and throw the zest of half an orange into the sauce then jazz it up with some crushed red (pizza) pepper and a pinch of oregano. If you’re doing this in the US where sugar is generally added to canned tomatoes at the factory, I suggest leaving out the sugar, you can always add it later if you like.
Leftover spetsofai also makes a KILLER sandwich on a toasted, hollowed-out, crusty, French roll or baguette! Be careful to not make it too sloppy with too much of the sauce, though.
Just wondering what a “tin of tomatoes” would translate to in the US. Not sure how much that is. Can I use fresh Tomatoe? Canned whole or crushed tomatoes? How much?
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What specifically are “Spicy Country Sausages”? What brand would I look for?
Depends where you are shopping at. In Greece these are branded as traditional Greek sausages and are flavoured depending on their origin (Ipiros etc). Abroad, your best bet would be a local greek deli to get the original saucages – alternatively you can try any sausage that you really fancy, but be mindful that it needs to be spicy (not in the hot sense but with a lot of spices) to bring out the flavour on this dish
Love
Eli
I know it’s a little late but I just found this recipe. The only place I could find country sausages in the UK is here http://www.sageandrelish.com
hi im in the uk and was wondering which sausages to buy i might speak to my butcher as him to prep me some I am loving all these recipes Eli i am making moussaka today but cant wait to try more of your recipes through the months
I usually use hot, mild or sweet Italian sausage and throw the zest of half an orange into the sauce then jazz it up with some crushed red (pizza) pepper and a pinch of oregano. If you’re doing this in the US where sugar is generally added to canned tomatoes at the factory, I suggest leaving out the sugar, you can always add it later if you like.
Leftover spetsofai also makes a KILLER sandwich on a toasted, hollowed-out, crusty, French roll or baguette! Be careful to not make it too sloppy with too much of the sauce, though.
My family love this recipe.
This is my go to recipe for my favourite Greek dish. Love it!
Just wondering what a “tin of tomatoes” would translate to in the US. Not sure how much that is. Can I use fresh Tomatoe? Canned whole or crushed tomatoes? How much?