If you haven’t tried the combination of Italian sausage with roasted with grapes yet, I’m quite certain that the minute you do this combo it will win you over. The grapes break down in the roasting process, releasing their sweet juice and mingles together with the sausage flavors of spice, fennel, bit of olive oil and thyme.
When grapes are roasted they take on a whole different taste and texture, sweet goodness in every little bite.
I like to keep my sausage formed into a ring, it’s held in place by sticking one skewer in on one side until it pokes out on the other side, making sure to go all the way through each layer, this will keep it together as it cooks. I think a ring of sausage, or rope as it’s sometimes called adds to a pretty presentation, but you can certainly make this using links of sausage as well.
Which brings me to another point, make sure you only buy good quality Italian sausage, I get mine from an Italian market that I know and frequent often, it’s spiced perfectly with fennel seed being a very dominant flavor, my favorite. For this recipe you can use either spicy or mild sausage, which ever is your preference.
My grapes of choice are the red seedless kind ( you definitely want seedless) but you can also do a combination of both red and green, just carefully pick them off the stems, rinse and dry completely then you’re good to go!
I love to serve this meal with sautéed broccoli rabe, the bitterness of the rabe with the sweetness of the grapes and the spice of the sausage is a win, win. For something a little more substantial, on a cold winters night a side of creamy polenta or mashed potatoes would be heavenly!
Incredibly easy to make, no chopping required, it’s a one pan wonder with a pretty presentation and the most important thing is, it tastes amazing.
Give it a try!
Follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.
- 1 lb. Italian sausage, sweet or hot, good quality with fennel spice kept in a ring or rope style
- red seedless grapes, 2 to 3 cups, stems removed, rinsed, dried and left whole
- sprigs of thyme
- olive oil
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Skewer your rope of sausage together using 1 skewer through one end and out the other so it stays held together while cooking.
- Heat a 10 or 12 inch oven proof skillet, medium high, drizzled with a tiny bit of olive oil on the bottom of the pan.
- Add sausage ring and don't move it until it forms a nice deep golden color, then flip it over carefully and continue cooking for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle grapes around, be careful not to crowd them in because as they cook they release their juice and if you have too many it becomes too liquidy and all will not caramelize like it should. I would say a good rule of thumb is to leave some space between the placing of your grapes.
- Drizzle with olive oil and scatter some fresh thyme leaves around.
- Place the whole pan into the oven, uncovered to finish cooking the sausage, ( keep checking for doneness, it depends on thickness) during the process your grapes will wrinkle and begin to release their juices.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
