SAUSAGE AND PEPPER SALAD

Sausage and Pepper Salad image

Provided by Martha Stewart

Yield Serves 5

Number Of Ingredients 13

2 hot Italian sausage links, meat removed from casings
4 sweet Italian sausage links, meat removed from casings
1 yellow pepper, cut in 1/2-inch strips
1 large shallot or 2 small, sliced crosswise
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
5 slices ciabatta bread
1 head romaine lettuce, washed, well dried, and crisped in refrigerator, and chopped into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan

Steps:

In large skillet, saute sausage meat. Using a metal spatula to break the pieces up, cook until it is golden brown and with some crispy bits, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate.
Add the peppers and shallots to the same pan. Saute to soften, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the wine, cooking to reduce it to a slight glaze on the peppers. Place the pepper mixture on the plate on top of the sausage.
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic to the pan. Let the garlic sizzle, and remove before it is brown. Add bread and cook to golden on one side, about 2 minutes. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the up side of the bread, turn, and continue cooking until crisp.
Place the lettuce and fennel in a large bowl; add the sausage and pepper mixture. Drizzle over the vinegar, sprinkle with salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Toss well and serve in a large salad bowl topped with the shaved Parmesan and a crostini.