Baked Sausages and Capsicum

Despite my undying devotion to cooking, I only ever watch TV cooking shows very fleetingly because I find them bizarrely unsatisfying. There are some notable exceptions: I really love "The Best in Australia" (three professional chefs compete each week to create the ultimate dish in a particular category eg the ultimate egg breakfast or the ultimate pasta dish), and "The Great British Menu" is also compelling, but mostly I turn on a show, see a little but then find myself wandering away to do the laundry or unpack the dishwasher (see - really bored). But every now and then, something catches my eye. I spotted this dish while blitzing through the channels last week, and landing on a British show called "Come Dine With Me". Hilariously, the concept seems to be a competitive dinner party show, with people making bitchy comments about someone's bathroom wallpaper and decor choices before sitting down to a dinner that they then critique fairly mercilessly. Just like having Simon Cowell over.

In any event, the dish I saw featured had potential as a quick, simple dinner, although I must confess that I would not consider it for a competitive dinner party with snarky celebrity judges. The colours are gorgeous but make sure you get really good sausages as they are definitely the star. (Leftover note - I mixed the leftover capsicum with some of the meatball sauce from tomorrow's posting, instead of having pasta. Scrumptious).

Roasted Sausages and Capsicum

adapted from Come Dine With Me Italian Sausages from Ben de Lisi

6-8 spicy Italian sausages

2 orange bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 large red onion
1 tbl dried oregano
Ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Chop capsicums into 3 cm squares, discarding seeds and membranes. Chop onion into quarters and then split into layers.

Place all capsicums and onions in a large baking dish and mix well with a drizzle of olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Pierce the sausages and place on top. Cook at 200C for 30 mins or until sausages are cooked and capsicum is tender. (Remove the sausages and allow the vegetables to keep cooking if necessary).