Name: Open-Faced Sausage Sandwiches
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 small clove garlic , minced; 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard; Salt and pepper; 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 large red bell peppers (or 1 red and 1 green pepper), seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces; 1 large red onion , cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces; 1 pound Italian sausage , cut into 1-inch pieces and softened at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes; 8 slices Italian peasant bread , cut 1 inch thick; 1 (7-ounce) package ready mix salad greens

Why This Recipe Works

Our Open-Faced Sausage Sandwiches are made with grilled peppers and onions, but grilling these vegetables proved easier said than done—they kept falling through the grill grate. We solved this problem by fixing the vegetables on skewers in between slices of sausage, effectively making kebabs. The vegetables stayed put and absorbed flavors from the sausage as they cooked. We grilled the kebabs over a medium-hot fire to ensure that the sausage was fully cooked. Before preparing the skewers, we tossed the vegetables with a garlicky vinaigrette, which prevented them from drying out as well as adding extra flavor. For extra sweetness, we chose red onions.

Before You Begin

Look for a large round loaf of Italian bread, which will produce substantial slices. Use spicy or sweet sausage or a mix of both.

Instructions

Whisk vinegar, garlic, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste together in small bowl. Whisk in oil. Toss peppers and onions with 2 tablespoons dressing in bowl and season with salt and pepper. Thread onion, pepper, and sausage onto four 12-inch metal skewers.

Grill over medium fire, turning skewers as needed, until sausage is well browned, about 9 minutes. Add bread slices to grill and cook until grill-marked, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove bread and skewers from grill.

Drizzle each bread slice with 1/2 teaspoon dressing. Toss greens with remaining dressing in large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place 2 slices grilled bread on each of 4 plates. Mound salad over and around bread. Place one skewer on each plate. Serve.