1 and 1/2 pounds sweet or hot Italian link sausages
1 and 1/3 cups green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound cooked ziti pasta
grated Parmesan cheese
parsley bouquets
5 cups marinara sauce
28 ounces canned tomatoes–Italian-style or plum
10 3/4 ounces tomato puree
1 teaspoons garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup fresh basil, packed and chopped
salt and pepper
Bake or pan-fry the sausages until fully cooked; drain and cool. Halve the sausages and cut the split sausages into 1/2" slices. Saute the bell peppers in olive oil over moderate heat only until their crispness is lost, but peppers are not soft. In a heavy sauce pan, add the tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil and bring to a light simmer on moderate heat. Add the sauteed pepper strips and cooked sausage and heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
Serve the pasta, topped with the sausage, peppers and salsa marinara and garnish each plate with a parsley bouquet. Pass the Parmesan.