Cooking with sausage

It’s tricky to find a staple food that hasn’t been given a trendy new look these days.

As food producers tempt our tastebuds with new varieties of the same products, that most elemental of foods, the sausage, has also been swept up in this tide of change.

No longer the gastronomic equivalent of your dad on the dance floor, contemporary sausages are the must-have item on any shopping list.

New sausage producers are thriving. Gone are the days when the butcher made just one sausage.

The most exciting varieties include combinations such as lemon and fennel or blue cheese sausages – then there’s duck and walnut, chicken and leek or sun-dried tomato and basil just to name a few.

More and more gourmet companies are helping to challenge the hegemony of mass-produced supermarket sausages with their plastic skins, standardised seasonings and cereal-laden, mechanically-recovered meat fillings.

According to Paul Gayler, British author of new book Sausage, buying premium sausage can transform your cooking in an inexpensive and easy way.

“Sausages are one of the great comfort foods, but they’ve come a long way since my childhood,” he says.

“Once nothing more than a mid-week staple, it’s now taken on ‘designer’ status.

“There has never been a better time to buy a sausage that will appeal to you, whether you prefer traditional recipes or experimental ones.”

So head to your local supermarket and butchers to find delicious, fresh and frivolous lines, which can be used in a range of dishes.

Here are Gayler’s top five recipes to try:

RECIPE: TURKISH MEATBALLS WITH IMAM BAYALDI AND SUMAC ONIONS

(Serves 4)

8-12 lamb sausages, skin removed
1 medium onion, coarsely grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp coarsely chopped mint

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the imam bayaldi:
2 eggplants, cut into 2.5cm dice
100ml olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tsp harissa paste
1 tbsp good-quality tomato ketchup
1 tbsp sultanas

2 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander leaves

For the onion relish:
1 large red onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp coarsely chopped mint leaves, generous sprinkle of sumac

For the meatballs, place the sausage meat in a bowl, add the onion, cumin, cinnamon and mint, and mix together well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least two hours. For the onion relish, put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix together well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

For the imam bayaldi, cook the eggplants in a pan of boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes, or until just soft. Drain well and dry in a clean tea towel. Set aside. Heat the oil over a high heat in a large frying pan, add the cumin and cardamom, and cook for one minute, stirring constantly to release their fragrance.

Add the aubergine and garlic, mix together well and cook, stirring occasionally until golden.

Add the tomatoes, harissa, tomato ketchup and sultanas. Cook for one minute, then remove from the heat, stir in the coriander, and cover with a lid to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat a ribbed griddle over a high heat until hot and slightly smoking. Add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally for 10-15 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Serve immediately with the imam bayaldi and the onion relish.

RECIPE: MERGUEZ AND BLACK BEAN SOUP

(Serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 large head fennel, trimmed and coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
375g turtle beans, soaked overnight in cold water and drained
1 litre chicken stock
Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
150g merguez sausages, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sour cream, to serve (optional)

Torn leaves of flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, fennel and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened.

Add the smoked paprika and cumin, and cook for one minute more, then add the beans and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until the beans are tender, then transfer to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon zest and juice. Return to the pan and keep warm.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the slices of merguez and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sausage is golden and cooked through.

Serve the soup topped with the slices of sausage and with a spoonful of sour cream, if using. Garnish with torn flat-leaf parsley.

RECIPE: SAUSAGE AND SOFT-EGG BIRYANI

(Serves 4)

2 tbsp vegetable oil
275g shallots or onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2.5cm piece of root ginger, finely chopped
200ml natural yoghurt
25g ghee or clarified butter
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
10 whole cloves
10 black or green cardamom pods, lightly toasted
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf
50g sultanas
450g lamb sausages, cut into small pieces
300g good-quality basmati rice, soaked in water for 30 minutes then drained
Generous pinch of saffron strands or powdered saffron
4 free-range eggs
Salt

Coriander leaves, to garnish

Heat the oil in a high-sided frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the shallots or onions and fry, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to drain thoroughly.

In a mortar, crush the garlic, ginger and yoghurt to a smooth paste. Set aside. Melt the ghee or clarified butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and sultanas, and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the sausage pieces and mix well.

Add the prepared rice and the garlic, ginger and yoghurt paste, together with 500ml of boiling water and one teaspoon of salt. Increase the heat, bring to the boil, stir once and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the rice is almost cooked through.

Meanwhile, mix the saffron in a bowl with three tablespoons of boiling water. Leave to infuse for two minutes, then uncover the rice, drizzle over the saffron water, cover again, then remove from the heat. Leave to stand, covered, for five minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the eggs in simmering water for four minutes, until soft-boiled. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave to cool for one minute before peeling. Uncover the rice, gently fluff up with a fork and transfer to a serving dish or individual plates. Cut the soft-boiled eggs in half. Scatter over the crispy fried shallots, top with the eggs and serve immediately, garnished with fresh coriander.

RECIPE: SAUSAGE PARMIGIANO
8 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
450g luganega sausage, skin removed (or pork chipolatas)
400g tin peeled and chopped plum tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp coarsely chopped oregano
1 tbsp coarsely chopped basil leaves
Unsalted butter, for greasing
2 large eggplants, cut into 1cm slices
2 x 125g buffalo mozzarella, thickly sliced
2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and sausage and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened. Break the sausage up with a fork as it cooks.

Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano and basil, increase the heat and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and pulpy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a high-sided frying pan over a medium heat. Add some of the eggplant slices and fry, turning regularly until golden.

Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to drain. Repeat with the remaining eggplant slices. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly grease a 23cm x 23cm ovenproof baking dish, then spoon in some of the sausage and tomato sauce and add a layer of fried eggplant.

Repeat, alternating sauce and eggplant, until both have been used up. Arrange the mozzarella slices on top, sprinkle over the Parmesan and place in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbling.

Allow to cool slightly before serving.

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