It’s sausage weather. Comforting Polish kielbasa, spicy Italian nduja, piquant and deliciously fat-speckled Chinese lap cheong or a good old Cumberland ring, it seems there is a sausage for almost everyone.
Cumberland sausage, shallot and cheddar roast potato mash (pictured above)
Serves 3
floury potatoes 900g
banana shallots 2, large
olive or groundnut oil 50ml
Cumberland sausage 500g, held together by skewers
cheddar, such as Montgomery’s or Keen’s 75g
parsley a small handful, chopped
Peel the potatoes and boil them for 15 minutes in deep, salted water.
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Peel and halve the shallots lengthways. Pour the oil into a roasting tin, and add the shallots, cut side down. Drain the potatoes then put them in among the shallots. Place the sausage among the potatoes and shallots then bake for about an hour till the shallots are golden and soft, and the potatoes are lightly crisp.
Grate the cheddar. Remove the onions and sausage to a warm place, add the grated cheddar to the potatoes in the tin, a little salt and pepper, then roughly crush with a potato masher to give a coarsely textured, crusty mash. Fold the shallots and parsley through the roast potato mash, and serve with the sausage.
Nduja bruschetta
Nduja, the spreadable, spicy Italian sausage is available from supermarkets and Italian grocery shops.
Per sandwich, serves 1
sourdough or ciabatta a thick slice
olive oil
nduja 85g
soft goat’s cheese 50g
thyme sprigs 3
black olives 4-6
Toast the bread lightly on both sides. Trickle enough olive oil over one side of the toast to thoroughly moisten it. Place the slice of nduja on the bread, add the goat’s cheese and thyme leaves, a little trickle of oil, then slide under the grill for a few minutes till the nduja is warm.
Add the olives, trickle over a little more olive oil and eat immediately.
Chinese sausage rice
Wind-dried Chinese sausages are available in Chinese grocery shops and supermarkets. The paler coloured varieties are the mildest, and, I think, the nicest. In this recipe, they are placed in the rice, moistening the grains as they cook.
Serves 2
white basmati rice 150g
Chinese wind-dried sausages 200g
spring onions 3, finely chopped
fresh shitake mushrooms 80g
chicken stock 300ml
chopped parsley 3 tbsp
Wash the rice three times under running warm water. Tip the rice into a medium-sized saucepan, tuck the chopped spring onions, mushrooms and sausages into the rice and pour in the chicken stock.
Bring the stock to the boil, then turn down the heat (you’ll need little or no salt. The sausages often have enough already). Cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes till the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the stock. You want it to be moist, but not sloppy.
Turn off the heat, remove the sausages and slice into thick pieces. Fold them, together with the parsley, back into the rice and serve.
Prune, apricot and chorizo stew
Serves 3-4
olive oil 3 tbsp
soft chorizo 250g
red onion 1 large
soft dried apricots 75g
soft dried prunes 75g
skinned almonds 50g
aubergine 1 medium
cumin seeds 1 tsp
coriander seeds 1 tsp
chicken stock 300ml
coriander leaves a handful
Warm the olive oil in a deep saucepan, then break the chorizo into large pieces and add to the oil. Let the chorizo cook over a moderate heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Peel and roughly chop the onion, add to the pan and continue cooking till it starts to soften. Stir in the apricots and prunes and skinned whole almonds.
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Halve the aubergine lengthways, then cut into thick slices and then into small cubes, add to the pan and continue cooking until it is soft and tender. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar then stir into the onion and sausage mixture.
Stir in the chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Stir in the coriander leaves and serve.
Kielbasa, sauerkraut and mushroom
The famous Polish sausage cooked with potatoes, onions and sauerkraut.
Serves 2
floury potatoes such as Maris Piper 350g, medium sized
onion 1, medium to large
chestnut mushrooms 200g
kielbasa or similar sausages 200g
olive or groundnut oil 2-3 tbsp
sauerkraut 200g, rinsed
dill 2 tbsp, chopped
soured cream 2 heaped tbsp
Peel the potatoes, cut them into quarters, then boil them in deep, salted water till tender to the point of a knife. Drain them, then slice thickly.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Slice the mushrooms and cut the sausages into thick pieces. Warm a tablespoon of oil in a large shallow pan then add the onion and let it soften over moderate heat for five minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms and kielbasa, and if necessary, a little more oil. Continue cooking till the mushrooms are starting to turn golden brown.
Add the sauerkraut to the pan, tucking it among the mushrooms and onions. Season with salt, pepper and the chopped dill, then add the soured cream in spoonfuls. Do not be tempted to stir the cream in.