When I moved from California to the Fargo-Moorhead area way back in 1996 there was a great little Italian restaurant in Dilworth, MN that I used to frequent. It was called Paisano’s, had a nondescript decor and was situated in, of all places, a Howard Johnson’s motel. Although the casual atmosphere was nothing to write home about they had a dish on their menu that was absolutely scrumptious. It was a chicken dish served with peppers, sausage with a tangy bean sauce. If I recall correctly it was called country chicken and peppers but I may be mistaken. Sadly, Paisano’s closed many years ago but I still remember this hearty delicious dish.

Inspired by the Paisano’s dish I created a chicken sausage and peppers meal with cannellini beans. It is lighter than the meal from the restaurant as that one was swimming in butter.

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken sausages (I used 2)

1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper chopped

4-5 chopped pepperoncini peppers

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium carrot chopped

8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste

1 19 oz can of cannellini beans with liquid

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp fresh tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

I started this dish by sautéing the carrots and onions in a little olive oil, salt and pepper for about five minutes, just until tender. The dried oregano was added at this point. I then added the garlic and peppers to the pan and cooked them down for another few minutes. Next I added the chicken sausage and the beans with their juice along with the fresh tarragon. The pan was covered and this was simmered for 4-5 minutes until everything was heated through and the flavors were married. The lemon juice was added at the end of cooking and everything stirred together well.

I ate this dish as is but it would be terrific with some good crusty country Italian bread.