088Spetsofai, sausage and pepper stew

Method

Pelion country style. Essential served with plenty of crusty sourdough bread for mopping the pan juices.

You will need

• wide heavy skillet or sauté pan
• wooden spoon
• slotted spoon
• box grater

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wide heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add 500 g sliced sausage rounds, and brown for 5 to 6 minutes until crisp at the edges, then transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. 6 min Ready when: edges browned and fat rendered
2. Add the remaining olive oil to the same pan, lower heat to medium, and toss in 4 sliced bell peppers, 1 sliced chilli, and 1 sliced onion. 1 min Ready when: sizzling in rendered fat and oil
3. Cook the peppers and onions for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until wilted and sweet with light golden patches. 10 min Ready when: peppers tender and collapsing
4. Add 2 sliced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp tomato paste, cooking for 1 minute while stirring to release the aromatics. 1 min Ready when: fragrant and deepened paste colour
5. Return the browned sausage rounds to the skillet, pour in 100 ml dry red wine, and simmer vigorously for 2 minutes until the alcohol has cooked away. 2 min Ready when: wine reduced by half
6. Stir in 400 g grated fresh tomatoes, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, and black pepper, then lower heat, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes. 15 min Ready when: sauce bubbling steadily
7. Remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens and the olive oil separates cleanly around the edges. 5 min Ready when: oil separating and sauce glossy
8. Remove from heat, allow the stew to rest for 5 minutes, and serve directly from the pan with crusty country bread. 5 min Ready when: rested and settled flavours

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Make ahead and storing

Improves substantially after resting; can be cooked a day ahead and gently reheated.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Substitutions

• coarse Italian pork sausage or chorizo for Greek country pork sausage (preferably with leek). Look for sausages flavoured with herbs, fennel, or garlic rather than finely minced breakfast sausages.
• tsipouro or dry white wine for dry red wine. Tsipouro provides a sharp, traditional Pelion tavern profile.

Common mistakes

• Rushing the peppers and leaving them undercooked and crunchy. The dish relies on the peppers softening deeply and releasing their sugars into the tomato gravy.
• Oversalting before tasting the sausage. Cured country sausages release salt as they simmer, so adjust seasoning only toward the end.

Regional variants

• In Pelion, diced aubergine is frequently added to fry alongside the peppers in late summer.
• Some Pelion cooks use tsipouro instead of wine to deglaze the pan.

About the dish

Hailing from Mount Pelion in Thessaly, spetsofai is one of Greece's most famous tavern stews. Its name is commonly said to derive either from the Italian spezzatino (stew) or from the dialect word spetza (hot pepper). Traditionally built around thick country pork sausages spiced with leek, garlic, or orange peel, the sausage is sliced, browned in olive oil, and braised with sliced sweet bell peppers, hot green chillies, red wine, and rich ripe tomatoes until glossy and savoury.

Found in Thessaly, Central Greece. Cooked for everyday, sunday lunch, winter.

Cousins elsewhere

• Salsiccia e peperoni (Italian). Both combine regional pork sausage braised slowly with sweet peppers and ripe tomatoes.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

615 kcal · protein 21.5 g · fat 48.2 g (saturated 14.5 g) · carbohydrate 22 g (sugars 11.5 g) · fibre 6.3 g · sodium 1080 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Thessalian mountain taverna tradition from the villages of Mount Pelion..

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