I was invited to a party by a neighbor not too long ago and I offered to bring an appetizer.
I was feeling adventurous so I decided to make something new. Not “new” as in something that I had not made prior. “New” as in something that I’d never even heard of. I settled on coming up with a version of the classic sausage and pepper combo that could be eaten as a finger food.
At first I planned on tiny open-faced sandwiches but I discarded that idea when I thought of bits of sausage dropping like napalm through soggy slices of Italian bread only to land on the shirts and blouses of unsuspecting guests. No. Bread was too fragile. And anyway, nobody eats carbs anymore. (Just kidding. Try the rice pilaf!)
So I decided to simply wrap the peppers and onions around the sausage and call it done.
It was a hit with everyone at the party but especially so for my neighbor’s adult daughter who decided to (1) call them pinwheels and (2) ask me for a recipe.
So, for Nicole, here is the recipe and a link to a video for Sausage and Pepper Pinwheels. However, I warn you that although the recipe is simple, assembly can be tedious. Also, I tend to eat quite a few of these during production so you may want to take this into consideration when planning your quantities.
Low Carb Sausage and Pepper Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 1 Large Green Bell Pepper
- 1 Large Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Large Sweet Onion
- 1 Coil Luganega Sausage (12 ounces)
- 24 Each Strong Toothpicks (Preferably round)
Instructions
- Preparation
- Wash and dry peppers and cook under broiler. Turn peppers as the skin blisters so that you achieve even color all around. to ¼ inch slices.
- Transfer peppers to a bowl and cover. Peppers will continue to cook and the skins will release and separate a bit. Allow peppers to cool so that they can be handled without burning your fingers then remove some of the skin and cut the peppers into slices that are about ¾ inch wide and 3-½ inches long.
- Peel onion and cut in half from root stem to top then cook the onion under broiler. Turn to ensure even browning. The goal is for the onion to cook enough so that the layers soften and separate. Allow the onion to cool then cut into slices that are about ¾ inch wide and 3-½ inches long.
- Brown the Luganega sausage on the stove top. Once the first side is browned flip the sausage and brown the second side. Then add a few tablespoons of water, cover the pan and cook until done. Then allow sausage to cool and cut it into about 24 pieces that are about 1 inch long.
Assembly
- Take a pepper slice & place it on the left. Take an onion slice and place it on the right, slightly overlapping the pepper and use a toothpick to connect them.
- Stand a sausage section on end and push the toothpick through the sausage.
- Wrap the pepper slice around the sausage in one direction and the onion in the other direction and use the toothpick to secure them completely surrounding the sausage.
- Refrigerate on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil & reheat in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes before serving.
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I’m so excited! These were literally amazing!
Thanks! Hope you like how they turn out!