Sausage Sauce Piquant

Reminiscent of the flavors of New Orleans, this dish is delightfully spicy - using only freshly ground black pepper, no less! A rich tomatoey sauce thickened by roux is the star of the show with the accompanying players of onion, green bell pepper and garlic completing the cast. For authenticity, use andouille sausage if you can find it. Serve over plain boiled white rice or boiled egg noodles.

Sausage Sauce Piquant

1 lb. sausage

1 (15 oz.) can no salt added diced tomatoes, drained

1 small onion, chopped

½ a green bell pepper, diced (or more to taste)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 cooking spoon flour

1 cooking spoon canola oil

¼ cup water

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the flour and immediately begin stirring. You must stir constantly or else the roux will burn. Cook the roux until it becomes a light chocolate color, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Add the onion and green pepper and stir to coat the vegetables; this will also stop the roux from browning any further. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, water, salt and pepper to taste. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer about 1 hour. Halfway through cooking, taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with plain boiled white rice or cooked egg noodles - serving dinner rolls alongside to sop up the sauce isn't a half-bad idea, although you could always serve piping hot cornbread as a side dish, too.

NOTE:  If you can't find andouille sausage, reasonable substitutes are chorizo, smoked pork sausage and smoked turkey sausage. Smoked turkey sausage or turkey kielbasa work quite well and lowers the fat content of the dish considerably.

When making the roux, "cooking spoon" implies it is a big spoon (tablespoon, serving spoon, etc.). The flour doesn't have to be level, but should not be heaping.