I have to give credit right from the start to my lovely wife Kristin for this recipe. She is, after all, the pasta Queen in our house and made this up years ago. That said though, I rock this dish. It’s about the easiest, tastiest meal you can whip up but first things first, let’s grab a cocktail. Inspired by the the East Side Show Room in Austin this Bourbon based drink is amazingly balanced.
- 3oz Bourbon
- 1oz Pepper Honey Syrup (Honey, Hot Water, and Boiled/Reduced Dried Pepper Liquid)
- 1 Lemon, Juiced
- Dash Bitters (I use Fee Brother Whiskey Barrel Aged for this one)
- 6 Mint Leaves
Shake or Stir everything but mint, strain, top each drink with 3 slightly bruised mint leaves. With that out of the way we can move on to dinner. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 16oz Linguini
- 5 (or more!) Fresh Italian Sausage (in casings)
- 1-2 Green Peppers
- 1-2 Sweet Onions
- 1 Clove Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- Grated Parmesan
Start by putting on a pot of water to boil for the pasta and firing up the grill. Chop the onion and green pepper into manageable shapes (I end up with eight pieces for each pepper). Add to a bowl with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, some black pepper and add a few large pinches of salt; toss or stir to coat.
Throw the vegetables and the sausages on the grill at the same time. I use a grate for the vegetables, which I highly recommend, but If you don’t have one just cut everything a little larger so you don’t lose all that goodness. Head back inside and make sure to get the pasta cooking so everything is done at the same time.
I cook over really high heat and wait until I get a good char on everything but you can pull them off whenever they look good to you.
While the meat is resting drain the pasta and toss in a large bowl with a little oil and a crushed garlic clove. Top with all you grilled goodness and serve with a block of Parmesan at the table for grating.
