Italian Sausage with Gruyere Grits and Tomatoes

Hello and Welcome to Sunday Supper on Djalali Cooks! I fell in love with this dish. Creamy grits with Gruyere cheese, topped with a spicy sauté of Italian Sausage, banana peppers and grape tomatoes, finished with sliced scallions. A perfect dish for a Sunday Supper, or top it with a fried egg for a fantastic Sunday brunch! There’s a lot to love about this quick and easy meal, so let’s jump right in!

Gruyere Grits

Let’s start with the 5 minute grits. Combine 3 cups of water, about 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter and about 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and whisk in 3/4 cup of quick cook grits. Reduce heat to low and cover, cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut the heat and stir in 1 cup of grated Gruyere cheese. Cover and set aside to keep warm.

Italian Sausage Sauté

This recipe is inspired by a Cook’s Country recipe in which they use jarred hot cherry peppers. I couldn’t find any at my local supermarket, so I am using hot banana peppers.

In a large skillet combine 1 pound mild or sweet Italian sausage and the diced onion. Cook over medium-high heat, until the sausage is cooked through and no longer pink. Break up the sausage as it cooks.

Cut the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage and onions to a separate plate and set aside. Turn the heat up under the skillet to medium-high. Heat the fat left in the skillet until it’s just barely beginning to smoke. Add the halved cherry or grape tomatoes. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Spread them out into a single layer and let them cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes, just until they begin to soften and turn brown in spots.

Give the tomatoes a stir and add the diced banana peppers. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes.

Then add the broth, pepper brine and the reserved sausage mixture back to the pan. Stir to combine and cook until the broth is mostly reduced and thickened slightly. Cut the heat. When you lift the lid off the grits, let the condensation from the lid drip back into the grits, then stir the grits well.

Italian Sausage with Gruyere Grits and Tomatoes

Time to plate! In a wide shallow bowl, ladle a serving of the Gruyere Grits. Then spoon on the Italian Sausage and tomatoes.

Sprinkle sliced scallions on top and that’s it!

Grits are a super comforting food on their own, and when you add nutty Gruyere cheese, they get so creamy and rich. They are the perfect canvas for this Italian Sausage and Tomato sauté. A wonderful combination of flavors; we have the Italian sausage which is super flavorful, yet mild, punctuated with slightly spicy banana peppers and the sweet tomatoes. Such a great dish! It’s one of those dishes that you never want to end! A totally different dish I feel the same way about is Thai Basil Chicken Stir Fry; give it a try! Thank you for joining me today, take care and be well! xo Kelly

Key Equipment

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Italian Sausage with Gruyere Grits and Tomatoes

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Dinner, Main Course, Brunch – American

By Adapted From Cook's Country – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 10 Minutes – Cooking Time: ~20 Minutes – Total Time: ~30 Minutes

Rich and creamy Gruyere Grits topped with a super savory mix of mild or sweet Italian sausage, hot banana peppers and grape tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Water
• 3 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
• 2 tsp. Kosher Salt, divided
• 3/4 cup Quick Cooking Grits, like 5-minute Grits
• 1 cup Grated Gruyere Cheese
• 1 lb. Mild or Sweet Italian Sausage, casings removed
• 1 Onion, diced
• 10 oz. Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
• 3 tbsp. Diced Hot Banana Peppers
• 1 tbsp. Hot Banana Pepper Brine
• 3/4 cup Chicken Broth
• Sliced Scallions, for garnish

Instructions

Gruyere Grits

1

Combine 3 cups of water, about 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter and about 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and whisk in 3/4 cup of quick cook grits. Reduce heat to low and cover, cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut the heat and stir in 1 cup of grated Gruyere cheese. Cover and set aside to keep warm.

Italian Sausage Sauté

2

In a large skillet combine 1 pound mild or sweet Italian Sausage and the diced onion. Cook over medium-high heat, until the sausage is cooked through and no longer pink. Break up the sausage as it cooks.

3

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage and onions to a separate plate and set aside. Turn the heat up under the skillet to medium-high. Heat the fat left in the skillet until it's just barely beginning to smoke. Add the halved cherry or grape tomatoes. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Spread them out into a single layer and let them cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes, just until they begin to soften and turn brown in spots.

4

Give the tomatoes a stir and add the diced banana peppers. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes.

5

Then add the broth, pepper brine and the reserved sausage mixture back to the pan. Stir to combine and cook until the broth is mostly reduced and thickened slightly. Cut the heat. When you lift the lid off the grits, let the condensation from the lid drip back into the grits, then stir the grits well.

6

In a wide shallow bowl, ladle a serving of the Gruyere Grits. Then spoon on the Italian Sausage and tomatoes.

7

Sprinkle sliced scallions on top.

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