This Oven Sausage and Vegetables is made with Sausages, Potatoes, Carrots, Onion & Garlic in a braising liquid of Wine, Pimento Paste, Oil, Lemon Juice with Paprika & Bay leaves. The beautiful thing about this recipe is that you can make up the dish as a side dish or include seasoned Chicken on top to cook and do a final crisping at the end for a complete meal in one.
Sausages
With precooked Sausages like Chourico you can just tear or chop into pieces to include in the dish. With uncooked Sausages like Italian Sausages, either chop into pieces or cook whole pricking the skin a few times so they won’t burst.
This dish is cooked covered for the majority of the time. So there is a lot of heat build up which will swell and burst raw Sausages. For this reason the skins are pricked to allow for expansion with the juices all mixed into the dish or chopped when using raw Sausages.
Portuguese Chourico Sausages
Just simply Amazing Portuguese Chourico Sausages. This recipe uses chopped up already made Chourico Sausages. But for this recipe you can skip the stuffing into skins when making the Chourico Sausage Meat and just use the next day for this recipe. The same way it is done for Chourico Kebabs. Freeze the leftover meat into portions for future Oven Sausage & Vegetables, Chourico Kebabs or other recipes using Chourico Sausages.
About 1 lb or more of marinated Chourico Meat can be thrown right here into the dish raw to cook up with the Vegetables & Liquids. While you can make this with about 1/2 inch pieces originally chopped to size for Chourico Sausages. It really is better to have these at about 1 inch or larger.
Chourico Sausages
Use about 1 lb or more of Chourico Sausages. Chopped or Torn into bite size pieces.
Cubed Chourico Meat
Add about 1 lb or more of Raw Chourico Meat fully marinated for 24 hours to the Casserole.
Italian Sausages
Store bought or Homemade Italian Sausages can be chopped into large pieces or with the skins pricked and included in the dish.
Italian Sausages
Use about 1 lb or more of Italian Sausages with the skins pricked to prevent bursting or chop them up into large pieces about 1 inch or bigger.
Vegetables
The Vegetables consist of Potatoes, Carrots, Onions & Garlic. But feel free to add in other Vegetables like Celery, Cabbage or Peppers. Optionally toss in some frozen Green Peas or a can of drained Waxed Beans as soon as it comes out of the oven to toss and heat through while resting and before serving.
Vegetables
- 2 Potatoes diced 1 inch
- 2 Carrots sliced 1/4 inch, Cut into 1/8 if you want them more softer
- 1 Onion sliced in half then quartered, diced or sliced
- 5 Garlic Cloves chopped or more
Braising Liquids
This recipe using a braising liquid that is based off of the Portuguese Chourico Sausages with a few adjustments. The Wine I use for this is Carlo Rossi White Wine. The same one used for the Chourico Sausages or Beer. With the Salt & Pepper Blend added last for seasoning and to taste.
Another really good one is the Goya White Cooking Wine. All of these will give you a different taste and you may opt for one over the other for any given time. Depending on what you have on hand or what you’re in the mood for. Either way it’s a very nice meal or side.
Carlo Rossi White Wine
This is a sweet tasting wine with very low salt and is the same wine used to marinate Chourico Meat.
Super Bock Beer
This is a Portuguese Beer. Use Super Bock or any other kind of Beer of your choice.
Goya Cooking Wine
A very nice cooking wine that contains salt. You won’t need to season as much afterwards with the Salt & Pepper if any at all.
Braising Liquid Ingredients
Combine the below into a Casserole and mix well. Then add in your Vegetables & Sausages.
- 1 Cup Wine or Beer
- 1/4 Cup of the following
- Oil
- Pimento Paste
- Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbl Hodi or Smoked Paprika
- 1/8 tsp Ground Bay Leaves
Tomato Juice & Broth Braising Liquid
For a no Alcohol braising liquid use 1/2 C of Tomato Juice & 1/2 C of Chicken or Pork Broth. For the Broth I use half a Bouillon Cube dissolved in 1/2 C of Water before adding in the Tomato Juice and then the remaining ingredients.
Italian Sausage and Vegetables
This one was made with 1/2 C Tomato Juice & Chicken Broth each. Celery & Cabbage were added in for extra Vegetables. Along with chopped Italian Sausages.
Portuguese Chourico and Vegetables
Chourico Meat and Vegetables
This one was made with 1 Cup of Goya White Cooking Wine with added Celery and Yellow Potatoes instead of Russet Potatoes. The Chourico Meat was marinated overnight for 24 hours and added raw.
Fat
Either a Neutral Oil, light tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Rendered Fat such as Pork or Lard can be used. In the case of using rendered fat, melt or pour the rendered fat and mix into the braising liquid for equal distribution of the fat.
Pimento Paste
Pimento Paste is just excellent in certain dishes and I use it a lot. Either Sweet or Hot Pimento Paste for a spicy version can be used. I always buy the Sweet Pimento Paste and add additional heat through other means.
Pimento Paste
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is what gives this dish it’s lift and Tang. I typically use 1/4 C for this dish and this creates a pretty Zesty dish which may be overpowering to some. However you can reduce this down to 2 Tbl for a less acidic dish if desired.
Oven Sausage and Vegetables Seasoning
While the go to seasoning for this recipe is just the Salt & Pepper blend along with the Smoked Paprika and ground Bay leaves. You can certainly add in additional Herbs like Parsley, Oregano, Basil, Rosemary or Thyme.
Paprika
I really love the aroma and flavor of Hodi Beech wood Smoked Paprika. I use this also when making Portuguese Chourico Sausages or the Chourico Kebabs. A good quality Smoked Paprika is perfectly fine.
Hot Paprika may also be used instead of Smoked for a spicier dish or Hot Pimento Paste used instead of Sweet Pimento Paste. Whatever Paprika you go with, ensure that it is a high quality Paprika.
Smoked Paprika
An amazing Smoked Sweet Paprika with Beech. It offers depth of Flavor and wonderful Aroma. Using this will just add so much more.
Hodi Paprika QR Code
This can be very hard to find online. I had to go right to the source with the QR code on the back which took me to Hodi Paprika Website. I source mine at Di Pietro in Cambridge, Ontario.
Salt & Pepper Blend
Use the Salt & Pepper Blend to season the Vegetables before serving if needed. If using the Goya White Cooking Wine then additional Salt won’t be needed or at least very little. Pepper can be added to taste unless you are using Hot Pimento Paste, Hot Chourico or Hot Paprika and then that too will be sufficient heat.
Salt & Pepper Blend Ingredients
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Bay Leaves
Use Ground Bay Leaves if you can. It just disperses the flavor much more. About 3 – 5 Whole Bay Leaves can be used and then removed before serving.
Oven Sausage and Vegetables Heat Level
The heat level is affected by the choice of ingredients you decide to use. Either the Mild or Hot Sausages, Smoked or Hot Paprika and Sweet or Hot Pimento Paste. All of these can can be adjusted to get the heat level desired.
Optionally add chopped Chilies, Chili Flakes or Cayenne Pepper for a hotter dish. Careful when playing around with the heat. A mix of Hot Chourico or Hot Italian Sausages plus Hot Pimento Paste will surely be too hot. Even more so with the use of Hot Paprika. Unless that’s your thing, then by all means make it as spicy as you like.
How to make Oven Sausage and Vegetables
Combine the Braising liquids into a casserole dish. Then add the chopped or torn Chourico Sausages, raw marinated Chourico Kebab or Italian Sausages along with the Vegetables. Toss and cook covered in a preheated oven at 375 F for 45 minutes on the middle rack. After 45 minutes, remove the cover, mix and cook another 15 minutes or more until the vegetables are tender.
Then remove from the oven, cover and let rest 15-20 minutes. It’s during this rest time the Vegetables will continue to soften. Fresh Herbs can also be chopped and added in to toss before resting for the 20 minutes. Adjust the seasoning before serving if needed.
Oven Sausage and Vegetables with Chicken
Seasoned Chicken Legs, Thighs or Quarters can also be placed raw on the Vegetables and cooked with them. Just the same as the Chicken & Chourico with Vegetables Recipe. The final 15 minutes of cook time will crisp up the Chicken.
When taking out the Tray to rest, remove the Chicken and place back into the oven with the oven heat shut off to rest at the same time the Sausages and Vegetables are resting. Any excess liquids can be strained off and poured into a saucepan to reduce until it coats the back of a spoon. Then drizzled over the Chicken & Vegetables when plating.
Equipment
- 1 Casserole with Cover
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Sausages - See notes
- 2 Med Potatoes - cubed into 1 inch pieces
- 2 Med Carrots - Sliced into 1/4 inch slices
- 1 Med Onion - Diced or quartered
- 5 Cloves Garlic - added in whole or chopped
Braising Liquid
- 1 C Carlos Rossi White Wine - See notes
- 1/4 C Oil & Sweet Pimento Paste - each
- 2 – 4 Tbl Lemon Juice - For a less acidic dish add in 2 Tbl of Lemon juice instead of 1/4 C.
- 1 Tbl Hodi or Smoked Paprika
- 1/8 tsp Ground Bay Leaves
Salt & Pepper Blend
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F with the rack in middle position. Combine all the braising ingredients together in a Casserole dish and mix well.
- Prepare the Vegetables and add them into the Casserole.
- Chop or tear Chourico Sausages into bite size pieces. If you are using previously frozen Chourico Meat, then just add them into the Casserole along with the Vegetables.
- Mix everything well and cover. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes. Then uncover to cook for another 15 minutes, or until the Vegetable are tender. Remove and let cool. Adjust the seasoning if needed by adding in the Salt & Pepper Blend to taste before serving. If using Goya White Cooking wine, this will already have sufficient Salt and additional seasoning may not be needed. Optionally add Pepper to taste.