Sausages and Mash with a Murphy's Irish Stout Onion Gravy

There's nothing better than a first class sausage (stop sniggering at the back please) and recently I've discovered that the ones in the butchery at the Hollies Farm Shop in Little Budworth, Cheshire are absolutely sublime, and at about the same price as a 'luxury' supermarket sausage.

The great thing is, you can mix and match, so I went for two of the Cumberland, a couple of Welsh Dragon (with leek and chillies), and some olde English pork sausages. A sausage selection box for the carnivore!

I didn't want to marry these plump and juicy specimens with egg, chips and beans, and didn't want to drown them in a casserole either; especially as I was starving and wanted my tea fairly quickly.

A quick look in the fridge and there was a can of Murphy's winking at me, I started pouring and had a lightbulb over the head moment... onions... stout... sausages...

So enough story telling, my mouth's watering again as I write this and I only finished eating twenty minutes ago.

Ingredients (serves 2)
6 Good quality pork sausages (a variety of different ones if possible)
2 large potatoes - maris piper or King Edwards are best
Savoy cabbage
1 medium onion
1Tbsp plain flour
125ml Murphy's Irish Stout (Guinness will do too)
500ml chicken stock
1 tsp of Dijon Mustard
1tsp balsamic vinegar
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

First of all get the spuds peeled, chopped and on the boil, bang your sausages under a medium hot grill, and then thinly slice your onion.

Into a saucepan add a generous knob of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil, heat it and when the butter has melted add the onions; cook these for about 5 minutes, until soft and a little golden. Once your onions have softened stir in the flour, and when mixed, add the stout, the stock, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and it should have started to thicken, turn the heat down to a lively simmer, leave and chop your cabbage.

By now your potatoes should be starting to get tender, with about 7 minutes to go, put your cabbage on (I prefer it steamed, but you can boil, it microwave it, or whatever you prefer.)

Turn your sausages over under the grill, and check on the gravy it should have reduced a little and be of a lovely consistency, turn the heat down and taste. Adjust seasoning and add some more mustard if you feel it needs it.

Check your potatoes with a fork, and if if tender, add milk and butter and mash them. Place a mound of mash on your plates, with the sausages and cabbage, then ladle the thick sauce over the top.

You'll be making this again, and again.

Fennel Sausage Pasta

This is a winter favourite, it warms you from the marrow of your bones to the skin on your cheeks; it’s satisfying, perfectly flavoured and dreadfully moreish. And, I made this version up myself!
This recipe is for four servings, but two hungry people can polish the lot off without too much difficulty, believe me, it happens every time I make it!
You can buy Italian fennel sausages, but they are nigh on impossible to track down in England, if you can't, then buy good quality pork sausages and follow the instructions below to make your own fennel sausage meatballs.

Ingredients:

1 bulb of fennel

500g bag of rigatoni

2 tins of chopped tomatoes
8 pork and fennel sausages

(or pack of 8 good pork sausages and another bulb of fennel)

a bunch of fresh basil

2 bay leaves

a teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 

2 cloves of garlic

1 medium sized onion, chopped finely

1 or 2 125g balls of buffalo mozzerella

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

½ glass of Italian red wine

If you have bought ready made fennel sausages you can skip this first step.
First of all slice the root end off one of the bulbs of fennel, and grate it quite coarsely into a large bowl, add the teaspoon of fennel seeds and get ready for the gooey bit!

Take a sausage and slide the blade of a knife down the length of it, slitting the skin, remove the skin, as you’d remove a cardigan and drop the sausage into the grated fennel; repeat with the rest of the sausages. Now get stuck into the mixture and squeeze, and squelch it with your hands until the fennel, sausage meat and seeds are well mixed. Form meatballs from this mixture.

Add the olive oil to a large frying pan on a medium heat, and cut your sausages into 2cm long pieces. Place each piece of sausage (or meatball) into the hot oil and let them sizzle away, turning occasionally; they should be a golden brown colour all over. When your sausages have reached the golden brown stage remove them from the pan and place them on some kitchen paper to drain.

Use the oil and juices left in the pan to soften your garlic, chopped onion and the bulb of fennel, finely chopped. After about five minutes, add the chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, bay leaves, half of the basil (finely chopped), oregano and wine to the frying pan. Season the sauce with salt and ground black pepper, and let it bubble away for a about 5 minutes, while you boil a large pan of quite heavily salted water.

At this point preheat your oven to 200˚C. When boiled, add all the pasta to the pan of water and leave to cook, then return the sausages to the frying pan and give them a quick stir so that they settle into the rich tomato sauce.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour it into a large gratin or lasagne dish, add the sausages and sauce to the dish and mix well. Tear the mozzarella cheese into small pieces and distribute evenly over the pasta. Finally, chop the remaining basil leaves and sprinkle them over the mozzerella, finish with black pepper and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the mozzerella is bubbling and golden.

Serve with garlic bread and red wine. I guarantee that you’ll be hooked!

Smoked Trout Kedgeree

Smoked trout kedgeree

At Christmas I was the lucky recipient of a Hollies Farm Shop gift voucher, to the tune of fifty quid;  from past experience, enough for two carrier bags of luxury, edible goodies.

Amongst the local sausages, rump steaks and divine patés (I was devastated that they'd sold out of Morecambe Bay potted shrimps) I bought a fairly hefty looking piece of smoked trout. Smoked trout is something I adore, but rarely buy; I don't know why not, this magnificent looking specimen was a shade over £3.

Smoked products have a great shelf life (and they say smoking is bad for you) so I had no need to rush it or freeze it and ruin it. Plenty of time to decide how to the rascal justice - this is what I came up with.

Smoked Trout Kedgeree (serves 2) From start to finish, this takes no more than 20 minutes and is something I'll be doing again.

You need:
1 smoked trout, flaked and boned
120g rice
Saffron
Juice of half a lemon
2 medium free range eggs
1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
3 spring onions
2 tsp curry powder
1 red chilli (chopped)
Fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper

Boil a kettle of water
Drop the eggs into a pan of the boiling water for 6-7 minutes, then remove from the heat and drain.
Boil the rice, with salt and saffron until tender (around 12 minutes)

While the eggs and rice are cooking warm some olive oil in a pan and over a fairly high heat cook the onions until they take on a soft texture, and a golden colour. By this point your rice should be cooked, so take that off the heat and drain it in a colander.
Add the curry powder to the hot onions and stir, then add the flaked trout, chopped chilli, spring onions and lemon juice. Reduce the heat and stir for two or three minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle in a small handful of chopped parsley and it's ready to serve.

Dish out onto a plate, then peel and cut your eggs into quarters, placing on top of the rice. Finish with a final flourish of parsley and dig in.