HomeNewsFor the love of ‘Sausages’

For the love of ‘Sausages’

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WHETHER frying, grilling, baking, poaching or braising, there are many ways to cook the perfect sausage and many books out there to help you along the way.
Sausages are the ultimate comfort food. They exist, in one form or another, in most parts of the world. In fact, there are over 400 different varieties globally. Now, Paul Gayler, one of the finest of the new generation of chefs, has compiled a cracking book on bangers.

 

Once considered the cheap food of the poor, many of today’s sausages contain gourmet ingredients and are found on the tables of the world’s finest restaurants. They’ve been a staple for centuries and Paul tells the sometimes surprising, sometimes sizzling history of one of the world’s most enduring foodstuffs. Did you know, for example, that in 320 AD the Catholic church temporarily banned sausages? Or that they’re mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey?
The book celebrates this delicious diversity and versatility, and features a handy reference chart detailing different types from around the world. The includes recipes like Rosticini with Polenta, Merguez and black bean soup, and Tartiflette, with more sections divided into Breakfast Ideas and Light Meals, Hearty Soups, Salads, Pastas and more, Fried and Grilled, Oven-baked Dishes and Stovetop Dishes. There’s even a section on the tastiest sauces and condiments to accompany your super sausages.
Paul Gayler is executive chef at the prestigious Lanesborough Hotel on London’s Hyde Park. The book will be available next month from all good book stores

This tasty dish combines all the flavours of Provence. It is easy to prepare and so quick to eat! You may like to add some crumbled goat’s cheese a couple of minutes before the end of cooking.

Sausage Cobbler

2 tbsp vegetable oil
8-12 country pork sausages or 400g cocktail chipolatas
100g streaky bacon
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g parsnip, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into slices
125g button or portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
750ml beef stock
2 tbsp chopped sage leaves
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

For the cobbler
275g self-raising fl our
125g unsalted butter, diced
50g Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 free-range egg, beaten
cayenne pepper, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A cobbler is a traditional dish that consists of a savoury or fruity mixture topped with a scone-like pastry dough and baked in the oven.

WHAT TO DO
Heat the oil in a large deep-sided non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sausages and bacon and fry for 5 minutes, turning occasionally.
Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the onion, garlic, parsnip, carrots and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly until golden. Add the tomato purée and mix together well. Sprinkle over the fl our and stir in well. Add the stock, chopped sage and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil and stir, then cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5). Put the fl our, butter, half the cheese, the cayenne pepper and the salt and pepper in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds, until the mixture resembles large fresh breadcrumbs, then transfer to a bowl, add 150ml of cold water, and mix well.
Roll the dough out on a floured board to about 1cm thick. Cut into rounds with a 5cm  biscuit cutter.
Cut the reserved sausages into 3, add to the vegetable mixture in the pan, then put in an ovenproof baking dish. Top with neatly overlapping cobbler rounds, brush with the beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the topping is well risen and golden. Serve immediately.

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