Spetsofai - Sausage and Peppers in Tomato Sauce

Spetsofai or Spetzofai is a traditional Greek dish made with spicy country sausages and sweet peppers in a rich tomato sauce. Its name is a combination of the Italian word Spezzatino which is a stew with meat cut into small pieces and the greek word fai which means food. You can find many variations of Spetsofai in different regions in Greece, with sausages made out of pork, beef or sheep and with different types of peppers and sometimes with aubergines. This recipe is ready in less than an hour, is very easy to make and is so so delicious!

Why you should try my recipe

• Simple ingredients that you can easily find wherever you live.
• Preparation time takes less than 10 minutes.
• You only need one pot to cook everything and a wooden board for cutting your veggies and sausages.
• It only takes 40 minutes to cook.
• You can make it as spicy as you like by adjusting the chilli flakes.
• Freezable, just warm it up in a pan or microwave after defrosting.

Ingredients & How-to

The key ingredients for the greek spetsofai are sausages, peppers, tomatoes and chilli flakes.

01. The traditional recipe requires a spicy country sausage made of pork. The mediterranean country sausages are made usually with pork meat, have loads of seasoning, spices and often red pepper in them. You can find them in many grocery stores or deli shops as spicy country sausages or smoky chorizo sausages (not the cured ones). For this sausage & peppers recipe, I just use 5-6 medium size sausages and cut them into slices around 1’‘/2cm thick.

02. The traditional recipe has long bull-horn green peppers but I’m using a mix of sweet mini peppers and bell peppers, since it’s easier to find in most countries. For the sweet mini peppers, I just cut them into round slices and remove the seeds.

03. Since the bell peppers are a bit bigger, I cut each one at four lengthwise and then into big squares. You can use any colors you like, green, orange, red.

04. I do all the cooking in one wide pot, the less cleaning the better! I first add the sausages with a little bit of oil and let them sauté for 5 minutes. If the sausages release lots of fat consider draining off a couple of spoons before continuing with the recipe.

05. I then add the chopped onion with the sausages and sauté for 3-4 more minutes. Enough time to get all the sweetness out and soften.

06. For the next step, I add the mix of chopped peppers, garlic and some red wine. I leave it for 3-4 minutes until the alcohol has evaporated.

07. Finally, I add the chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, chilli flakes and half a cup of water and let it cook for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is thick and peppers are cooked. I only add half a teaspoon of chilli flakes but you can adjust it to your liking, just remember that the sausages might be already a bit spicy too.

Serving suggestions

You can have these Greek sausages and peppers in tomato sauce as a main dish or appetizer with a nice slice of bread to dip in that thick and tasty tomato sauce or with some feta cheese on the side. If you are serving little ones, you can cut the sausages at four lengthwise and then into two or three pieces as the round shape can be a choking hazard.

Storage

You can store any leftover spetzofai in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. It can also go in the freezer for a couple of months. Just defrost it and warm it up in a pot or microwave for a few minutes before serving.

FAQ

• What type of sausage can I use for spetzofai? I recommend a spicy country style sausage made of pork with medium seasoning. In Greece, we call them country sausages and you can find them in deli shops or some grocery stores. You could also use a spanish chorizo style sausage, not the fermented one, or italian sausage with mild seasoning.

• Is Spetzofai too hot? You can make Spetzofai as hot spicy as you like by picking a sausage of your liking and adding more or fewer chilli flakes. If you like your food to be too hot, you could also add a chilli pepper in.

• Is greek sausage and peppers suitable for a baby? You could give sausage and peppers to babies over 12 months but only as a special treat as sausages are high in sodium and nitrates. If you do decide to give this to your little one as a special treat, I recommend cutting the sausages in long pieces rather than circles.