Chicken and Sausage Campagnola

One of the most colorful highlights of the summer is the bell pepper selection at the market. Red, orange, and yellow peppers outshine their green cousins with a sweet taste and crunch. Roasting bell peppers creates a great foundation for many dishes, from salads to antipasto platters.

This entrée combines chicken, Italian sausage, roasted peppers, garlic, and herbs to create a rustic and delicious topping for pasta or rice. Campagnola roughly means “peasant-style,” and like lots of good country cooking, this dish uses simple ingredients.The recipe was developed at Ecco Restaurant in New York City and highlighted in an article written by Nao Hauser for the July 1986 issue of Bon Appétit. Hauser took BA readers through a tour of restaurants that were flourishing in Lower Manhattan in the mid 1980s.  Some of them, like Ecco, are still around today.  Others, such as Windows on the World at the World Trade Center, are gone.  

Start with the Peppers

Chicken and Sausage Campagnola comes together pretty quickly. You can roast the peppers right before browning the sausage and chicken or do that step hours ahead of time. Some folks like roasting peppers on a grill, but I use my broiler.

Browning the sausage and chicken in the skillet are the first steps on the stovetop. After browning the sausage, I drained all but a film of the drippings and then added the chicken pieces. I then added a tablespoon of oil to the skillet once the chicken came out and built the base of the sauce on that.

I also used half of the butter that the original recipe called for and added a bit more chicken broth in its place.

The recipe called for either fresh or dried rosemary and oregano. I opted to use dried oregano and fresh rosemary in the sauce base, but fresh herbs of both for the finishing garnish.

We enjoyed this dish served over fettuccini noodles and opted to sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top right before serving. We didn’t feel at all like peasants as we ate our dinner outside under a summer evening sky.

Chicken and Sausage Campagnola

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie

Pasta dish that brings the Italian countryside to your table.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

• 2 large red bell peppers or a combination of red, yellow or orange peppers
• 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausages cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound skinned and boned chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces, seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 6 medium garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary minced (or 1 teaspoon dried—or a combination of the two)
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano minced (or 1 teaspoon dried—or a combination of the two)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese optional, for topping
• 1 pound fettuccine or pasta of your choice cooked according to package directions

Instructions

 

• Roast peppers under broiler or over flame until blackened on all sides. Place in paper bag and allow to stand for at least 10 minutes. Remove the peel, stem, and seeds from the peppers and cut them into thin strips, about 1/4 inch by two inches. Place strips in a small bowl, allowing any juices to collect.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage pieces and cook, turning frequently, until they are browned, about 8 minutes. Remove sausage pieces to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Drain all but a film of the pan drippings out of the skillet.
• Add chicken pieces to skillet, and cook, turning frequently until just springy to the touch, about 7 minutes. Add to sausage, using slotted spoon. (I placed the meats in a warm oven at 200 degrees F while I finished the sauce.)
• Cook pasta according to package directions, timing it so that the pasta goes into the boiling water when the chicken is finished cooking.
• Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Place garlic in skillet and stir for one minute. Add the wine and chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add peppers, half of the rosemary and oregano (1 1/2 teaspoons if fresh, 1/2 teaspoon if dried) and stir. Boil the sauce until it is thickened, about 7 minutes. Whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Return sausage and chicken to skillet. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
• Sprinkle with remaining rosemary and oregano and serve immediately.
• Serve with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes

Also good served over cooked rice.

Adapted from Ecco Restaurant in Bon Appétit (July 1986)