Sausages are an amazing ingredient, all ready to cook in their own coating, they can be fried, grilled, baked or you can be slightly more inventive and try any of the following recipes. All of the recipes here are slanted towards giving the students in our lives some inspiration! Sausages come in a whole variety of flavours so choose your favourites and try out these ideas. We think that a toulouse sausage goes well in the Sausage Casserole, whilst a leek or apple and pork sausage goes well in Toad-in-the-Hole. Let us know your favourites.

Sausage Casserole
2 sausages per person
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, peeled
1 carrot, scrubbed or peeled
3-4 new potatoes per person, washed
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin butter beans

Method
Dice the onion, carrot and potato.
The sausages can be left whole or cut into 4 pieces each, though it is easier to eat with only a fork if they are cut up before they go in the pot.
Put a tablespoon of oil in a pan that will fit all the ingredients at the end and add the onion and fry till it’s just starting to tinge with brown (about 5 mins).
Add the sausages and brown. Add the carrots, potatoes, tin of tomatoes and butter beans. Break the tomatoes up with a spoon.  Fill the empty tomato tin with water and add to the pot too (this is also a good way to rinse the tin out and use up the tomatoey juice left in the bottom of the tin) so that all of the ingredients are covered with liquid. Put the lid on and simmer for about 20 minutes. Test that the potatoes are cooked by stabbing with a knife, if the knife slides in easily then they are ready.

Spaghetti with Sausage meatballs
2 sausages per person
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
tin of tomatoes
75g/3oz Spaghetti per person (unless they are very hungry people in which case use 100g/4oz per person)
(If there is no measuring equipment then a packet of spaghetti should serve 6 people so divide by however many people you are cooking for!)

Method
Skin the sausages and divide into 4, then roll them in your hands to form balls.
Put a large pan of water on to boil for the spaghetti
Dice the onion and garlic, heat the oil in a frying/saute pan and saute the onion and garlic till starting to tinge with brown, add the sausages and fry till change colour. Add the tin of tomatoes and simmer, cover with a lid if drying out too much or add a bit of water (or wine if you have it)
When the water in the pot is boiling add the spaghetti and cook according to packet instructions but usually about 8 – 10 minutes.
Test to see if the spaghetti is cooked – the traditional method for testing spaghetti is to throw it at the wall and if it sticks it’s cooked! Or you can bite the end and see if it is cooked to your taste.

Toad-in-the-Hole (serves 2)
4 sausages
1-2 tbsp oil
1 red onion
1 carrot or sweet potato
4oz/100g plain flour (or you can buy a batter mix from most supermarkets for about 35p and add the recommended amount of eggs and milk)
1 egg
pinch of salt if using flour
300ml milk (for those without a measuring jug 300ml is about a full ordinary sized mug)

Method
Heat the oven to 220C fan/200C/ gas 7
Cut the onion into wedges and slice the carrot into rounds .
Put the oil in a baking tray and add the sausages, onion and carrots and put in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
To make the batter put the flour and salt or batter mix into a bowl and add the egg, then add the milk gradually and beat with a whisk or fork until as smooth as you can make it.
After 15 minutes take the sausages out of the oven and pour the batter mix over. Put back in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes till risen and golden.
Whilst it is cooking make some gravy to serve with it.

Sausage and Rice
2 sausages
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
handful mushrooms
tin chickpeas, drained
tomato puree
3oz/75g rice
(Again if you don’t have measuring equipment then about 1/4 to 1/3 of a mug of rice)
500ml chicken stock (or 1 and 1/2 mugs)

Method
Dice the onion and garlic (We would cut the sausages into pieces too as we find it easier to eat with just a fork). Slice the mushrooms.
Heat the oil in a saute/frying pan with a lid and add the onion and saute till tinged with brown, add the garlic and mushrooms and cook till the mushrooms are starting to soften. Add the sausages and saute till changed colour. Add the tomato puree and stir into the mixture and cook for a few minutes. Add the rice and stir till coated in the tomato and onion mixture. Add the chicken stock and chickpeas, stir well. Put the lid on and simmer for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and leave undisturbed for 10 minutes.

We love sausages, and since a previous blog called the ‘Versatility of Sausages’ we have been on a wonderful sausage making course at Mustard Seed, bought our own sausage making machine (a glorified mincer with sausage stuffer attachment) and made lots and lots of sausages. Here is another of our favourite recipes.

Sausage and Bean Cobbler

6 sausages, skinned and cut into chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, diced,
1 leek, washed, cut in half and sliced
1 large or 2 small carrots, diced
1 tsp each dried thyme and oregano
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 glass white wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin beans, drained (we prefer borlotti or cannelini but kidney or chick peas work equally well)

Method
1. Heat the oil in a saute pan. Fry the garlic and onion for a few minutes, add the diced carrot and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the leeks and stir well.
2. Add the sausage pieces and stir till changed colour, sprinkle over the herbs.
3. Add the tomato puree, stir well, then add the wine and cook out for a couple of minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes and beans. Half fill the tomato tin with water, add to the mixture, bring to the boil and simmer whilst you prepare the cobbler topping.

Cobbler
200g self-raising flour
100g butter
1 tsp dried oregano
150ml milk

Method
1. Put the flour in a bowl, add the butter and rub in (or put in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds at a time till well combined)
2. Add the oregano and stir in the milk to form a thick batter

Putting the sausage and bean cobbler together
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C
2. Pour the sausage mixture into a an oven-proof baking dish.
3. Get 2 spoons and dollop the cobbler mixture on top of the sausage mixture. Use one spoon to scoop up the cobbler batter and the other to push it off on top of the cobbler in a rough pattern so that it almost covers the top.
4. Put the cobbler in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes till the topping is gently browned.

Delicious on its own or serve with new potatoes and green beans

Hello

I haven’t written for a while as my life has been busy in ways other than food, however I have still been cooking, a lot, and have lots of photos that I can use when I get the time to write about the wonderful dishes I have tried.

This blog is a thank you to my sister-in-law who told me about a wonderful Happy Foodie event organised by her local book shop in Chorleywood and where she bought me Comptoir Libanese by Tony Kitous and Dan Lepard.  I hadn’t tried Lebanese flavours before but Tony took along some flat bread, Labneh and za’atar and the flavours were amazing.  One of the beauties of the event was that it wasn’t all food demonstrations but some really good discussion and panels where people talked about food. When I first saw Tony at this event I had no idea who he was, but he completely bowled me over with his passion for the ingredients, enthusiasm for his food and interest in all different cuisines.  I really wanted to try cooking some of the dishes straight away, but had to wait to get the book as a Christmas present!

In January we had some wonderful family friends coming round and I knew this was my opportunity to try some of the mouth-watering recipes as these friends love trying different foods. There were so many dishes I wanted to try there was a likelihood I would have cooked too much, so I tweeted Tony for recommendations, and he replied quickly with some wonderful suggestions.  I had my menu.  I also had lots of willing helpers in the kitchen, one in particular who really enjoyed herself and was great fun.  Miss you Nat!

Lebanese feast

I thought this was going to be a labour of love as two days before I started making my own Labneh, however the recipe was so easy to follow.  It is basically drained yoghurt, and was simple and delicious.  I think I worried that I would do something wrong, but a muslin in a sieve, over a bowl and stored in the fridge is really quite easy and concentrates the flavour beautifully.  All it needed on the day was a drizzle of olive oil and  some za’atar.  A wonderful spice blend used in a number of dishes.

Labneh with za’atar

Tony’s suggestions were Pomegranate Molasses Marinated Salmon and he even suggested where to buy the pomegranate molasses.  I phoned the local ‘big’ Sainsbury’s and they were very helpful and checked that they had some in stock.  They also told me how many bottles there were – three!  I always try to shop locally when I can but sometimes need to go to the major supermarkets.

Pomegranate Molasses Marinated Salmon

Comptoir halloumi and tomato salad was also easy to do with just a bit of time to griddle the halloumi, then a very simple assembly.  I think it would be even more delicious cooked on the bbq with heritage tomatoes. Come on summertime.

Halloumi and Tomato Salad

I also decided to make Chicken Wings (Jawaneh) and they were scrumptious.  I’m looking through my cookery book as I write this and I think my picture looks very similar to the professional one in the book so am very pleased with myself for the photography skills as well as the culinary skills.

Chicken Wings

Making Tabbouleh was an education due to the proportion of parsley to bulgar wheat.  It is really a parsley salad with a little bit of bulgar wheat, tomatoes and spring onions in a tangy lemony dressing.  Very fresh and vibrant, especially after any excesses at Christmas.

Tabbouleh

We also made our own Comptoir frozen yoghurt and had pistachio’s, pomegranate seeds and honey for people to add their own toppings and create their own variation.  However, no photos were taken so all the care and attention that Denise spent freezing the yoghurt, and Ray shelling the pistachio’s has not been recorded but we can say that it was sublime. The lack of photos probably had something to do with the amount of alcohol consumed by that point in the proceedings!

Thanks everyone for a great evening.  Apart from cooking some dishes from this wonderful cookbook for my sister-in-law, and family, who bought me the book in the first place I think lots of the recipes will become firm family favourites.

Happy Cooking!

Menu and Spice bags

I have been running cooking experiences at The Vojan restaurant for over 2 years now. The popularity of these sessions has grown from strength to strength.  Some months we were down to one or two people but now they are regularly fully booked.  We have had whole groups book all the places and mixtures of individual or twos and threes in other sessions.  On the evenings where there is a mixture of people who don’t apparently know each other the connections between people and how they find a commonality is amazing. At the last session one guy knew another’s mum and someone else had fitted the flooring for another.  For me, I just love the opportunity to meet new people, chat about food and cook, and eat, some wonderful Indian curries.  Here are a selection of photos.

Making Samosas

We even make cakes for birthdays, though you do have to share with the group

Chicken Tikka in the tandoor

Lamb Rogan Josh

For more information on these fun experience sessions please see the webpage http://www.pickled-penguin.com

For more information on how to book please contact me, Karen Bush on 01992 611373 or 07528 075320 or email karen@pickled-penguin.com

A visit to Chinatown is always a treat, and even more so when I get to see my gorgeous nephew from the north.  He is a tall, good-looking young man and he carried my shopping for me!  There are ‘Chinatowns’ in most major cities across the world but the one we went to was in Gerrard Street in London.  We wandered around, chose a restaurant to eat in – The Royal Dragon, (thanks to trip advisor for the reviews) confusingly for me next to the Golden Dragon, and did a bit of shopping. 

When you live in a more rural area then a trip to the big city is always exciting and I happily spent time wandering around the Loon Fung Supermarket picking up bottles and jars that I normally have to order on the internet.  Now I am ready for a chinese cooking session but what to cook?  I shall spend some happy hours flicking through my cookery books.  Ken Hom is obviously the master but Ching He Huang has some lovely modern recipes, however I also have my first ever chinese cookery book, given to me when I was about 16, which isn’t by anyone famous but has loads of delicious tried and tested (by me) recipes.  Not sure what I’m going to do with the Japanese Panko breadcrumbs yet but I’ve wanted to try them for ages.

At the Royal Dragon we ordered the Peking set menu.  I don’t think it was because it was the first thing my sister-in-law saw on the menu….  The staff were very patient whilst we waited for my husband to arrive; so many of the reviews about all the restaurants said about being hurried.  There was an initial flurry of ‘can we take your order?’  But once they realised we were waiting they didn’t hurry us.  The selection was good, the food cooked well and the proportions about right.  So definitely a restaurant our little group would recommend.

The potato is one of the most underrated vegetables, it is very versatile, comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes and goes with almost anything.  I have even been known to make a gluten-free lemon drizzle cake which uses potato instead of flour.  We all expect to be able to buy them all year round though they should really be seasonal and only available in the autumn and winter.  Potatoes became the favourite staple ingredient centuries ago when they came over from South America, taking over from bread, but due to its density and construction does not count as one of the five-a-day, which is a shame.

My brother loves potatoes, so when i read a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi’s (also known as ‘my lengthy tomato’ in our house for some strange reason…) ‘Plenty’ for a potato style tarte tatin I had to cook it for him.  It was as delicious as it sounded, and very easy to do.  Prepare all the elements separately and then arrange them in a cake tin, top with puff pastry and bake.

• caramel simply made with sugar and butter
• picked thyme leaves. The recipe used fresh oregano, but that’s not easy to come across in England.  Though i did grow some years ago which was very easy to do, it sort of looked after itself, perhaps i’ll plant another one!
• boiled new potatoes, cool, then take ends off and slice into decent sized pieces of at least 1.5 – 2cm
• oven-dried cherry tomatoes, halved with a squidge of olive oil and grind of salt and black pepper
• sautéd sliced onions, gently cooked till golden
• slices of a hard goats cheese
• All topped with puff pastry.  Sainsbury’s now do a ready-rolled puff pastry which is cheaper than the usual one and it worked fine.

Cooking it in a cake tin made it easy to turn out, always the tricky bit with tarte tatins.  The quantities in the recipes were perfect, sometimes I find that it needs more or less of one element or another but not this time.

I wish I’d taken a picture it looked so beautiful when it came out of the tin but before I remembered it was in our tummies.  Yummy!

My favourite farm shop is Calcott Hall Farm Shop near Brentwood and I go there every few weeks to stock up on vegetables.  The last time I went I bought loads of vegetables for my very own photoshoot with my lovely brother-in-law.  Thank you Adrian, I’m not sure you knew what you were letting yourself in for!  I am now the happy owner of a library of vegetable pictures for use in my blog and website that I am developing.  And knowing that (most) of the vegetables are grown locally makes me glad, well done Calcott Hall for championing local produce as well as all your own varieties.

My apologies for the sweet potatoes, butternut squash and aubergine but in this global economy and international web-linking world, vegetables which were never even heard of when I was a mere slip of a lass, are now available on our doorstep.  As a result of this mega-shop we have been eating a lot of vegetarian and mainly vegetable-based dishes, and I have spent less money at the butchers and fishmongers.  We have had cauliflower cheese soup, cauliflower and aubergine curry, roasted beetroots, Antonio Carluccio’s braised Kohlrabi (which is now my favourite way to cook this vegetable but more on that in another blog), and lots more.

Today I have been using the pumpkin and made a broth for lunch with chicken stock (I save my meaty chicken stock for just such occasions as a good broth needs lots of meat) from the freezer and lots of pumpkin, pearl barley and lentils.  Perfect for a cold autumnal day!  Still delicious during this Indian summer heatwave we are currently experiencing.

Pumkins are very versatile and I prefer Calcott Hall’s Crown Prince Squash variety for flavour but I couldn’t resist this beautiful orange orb to use as the centre piece for the photoshoot.  The bland flavour of the pumpkin needs strong pairings and the paprika and garlic in chirozo are ideal for a savoury dish whilst cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg are perfect for sweeter dishes. Tonight I shall make a chorizo and pumpkin risotto blending a sumptuous mix of Italian, Spanish and British, whilst my weekend baking is going to be an American style pumpkin pie, where the secret is all in the mix of spices.