Roasted Sausages w/ Balsamic Burst Tomatoes

[pilgrim719]

I had this for dinner last night and it was so delicious that I'm already hoping for another sale on grape tomatoes so that I can make it again. I love roasting pretty much anything in balsamic vinegar, so I had a feeling I'd love this, but I'm not sure love was a strong enough word. :D It was so simple to throw together, smelled great while it was in the oven, and tasted heavenly with the sweet-tangy glaze and the aged cheese grated liberally over the top. My only changes were to leave out the scallions and use asparagus in place of the cauliflower. Oh and I used a Boca Italian sausage.


Roasted Sausages with Balsamic Burst Tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cauliflower

From Every Day with Rachael Ray
December-January 2009

SERVES 4

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
8 links hot or sweet Italian sausage
2 pints grape tomatoes
1 small bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (eyeball it)
Roasted Cauliflower—top the cauliflower with 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese before roasting
11 cup fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Drizzle enough EVOO onto a large rimmed baking sheet to coat the bottom. Add the sausages, tomatoes, scallions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and pour the vinegar on top. Roast, turning the sausages and vegetables once halfway through cooking, 30 minutes.
2. Divide the sausages and vegetables among 4 plates and top with the cauliflower and basil.

[krhm]

Oh my, that sounds wonderful! I'm kind of weird about grape tomatoes...do they get pretty mushy?

[pilgrim719]

Oh my, that sounds wonderful! I'm kind of weird about grape tomatoes...do they get pretty mushy?

I didn't think they were mushy, but I love tomatoes in any form so maybe I can't give you a good answer. They were soft inside, but the outside skins were roasted and glazed with the vinegar, so they retained some texture. Plus I was eating them with the sausages and asparagus, so with those textures thrown in it wasn't noticeable how if the tomatoes were mushy.

Boy that helped huh?? :rolleyes:

Kari

[krhm]

Actually it really does...what you described sounds like what I don't like about grape tomatoes! :D I can eat tomato sauce, salsa, etc, but I just cannot get past that "burst" in my mouth when I bite into a raw tomato. I know, I'm weird!

I think I will try this with some chopped red bell pepper.

Kari (the other one!)

[pilgrim719]

Actually it really does...what you described sounds like what I don't like about grape tomatoes! :D I can eat tomato sauce, salsa, etc, but I just cannot get past that "burst" in my mouth when I bite into a raw tomato. I know, I'm weird!

I think I will try this with some chopped red bell pepper.

Kari (the other one!)

Maybe you could just cut them up before roasting; that way there would be no bursting since the guts would all be out in the open already.

Yeah, that was a lovely description. I guess I won't quit my day job to become a food writer.

(BTW, there probably aren't many more K-a-r-i's in the world. We're a rare breed with that spelling!)

Kari

[helene]

I'll have to wait for a sale too.

Thanks for the recipe.

[krhm]

Bumping this back up to say YUM! Loved this recipe! My only change was to use red and orange bell pepper strips instead of tomatoes. I also added a little chicken broth because I didn't use much oil. I loved the balsamic vinegar on the veggies and will definitely use that on roasted veg in the future, just for a twist.

Depending on your brand of sausage and the amount of oil you use, this is also very Points-friendly for anyone who is on Weight Watchers. Even better...it reheats well too!

Thanks for posting, Kari!

[zackaboo]

That looks awesome Kari. Thanks so much for posting! I love, love, love roasted cherry tomatoes.

[Wendy w]

Thanks Kari! As a fan of Italian sausage and roasted veggies, I must try this. Maybe over the weekend!

[barbara-cook]

Maybe I'm just dense today, but do you roast the cauliflower in the same pan with the sausages? Or are you roasting it separately? I notice in the ingredient list it's "roasted cauliflower" and it's not listed in the directions with these items:

Here > Add the sausages, tomatoes, scallions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and pour the vinegar on top.

But are the directions refering to the cauliflowere here?> Roast, turning the sausages and vegetables once halfway through cooking, 30 minutes.

It sounds great, but like I said, I guess I'm just dense today! I'd love to try it, so I'm wondering how you did it (even tho you said you used asparagus.).