Pork Sausages in a Tomato and Sage Salsa

Pricked pork sausages, cooked slowly (30 minutes) in their own fat, under glass in a ribbed frying pan. Turned four times.

The tomato salsa was made with onion (fried in another pan for about fifteen minutes), and later with diced cherry tomato, sliced mushrooms and diced red pepper. All cooked in a little sunflower oil for another fifteen minutes.

After that a little water was added to the salsa pan, along with two squirts of tomato puree, and a teaspoonful of dried sage. Stirred thoroughly.

The chipped parsnips were dressed in sunflower oil with a pastry brush, and were cooked under the grill for twenty minutes or so (watch by eye!). Turned once. Alternatively you can melt a little butter, and dress the chips in that.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Pork and Leek Meatloaf

Bargain sausagemeat from Sainsbury's, so I made a meatloaf with it, using oats, cornmeal, diced leek and herbs (rosemary in this case, but sage is also a good choice).

The ingredients were mixed initially by hand in a large pyrex bowl, until the vegetables and meat were thoroughly mixed together. I also added a little sunflower oil, and one large egg.

The mixing can take up to ten minutes. I added a little salt and the rosemary during this process.

After that I continued the mixing process using a medium sized wooden spoon for another seven minutes or so.

Then the mix was decanted into a silicon bread tin, patted down and textured with a fork. Cooked for one hour at 190 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven (check progress occasionally). The meatloaf will shrink a little during the cooking process, so there is no problem getting the loaf out of the tin in one piece after it has cooled.

Served in this case with Brussels sprouts and some cranberry jelly, and some sliced yellow pepper. Dusted with a little parsley. 

Pork Sausage, Mushrooms and Peppers

A simple sausage dish served with Brussels sprouts instead of boiled potato.

The sausages were made with outdoor-bred pork, cooked at a medium heat in a little sunflower oil for 20 to 25 minutes, and turned four times.

While the sausages were cooking I diced two medium sized red onions (white or brown onions will do just as well). Plus half of a red pepper, and half a dozen mushrooms, quartered. The sausages were removed from the pan, and replaced with the onion, mushroom, and pepper strips. Cooked for twenty minutes at a medium heat until browned. Stirred frequently to ensure even browning.

After that, about 300 mls of boiling water was added, plus 100 mls of water containing a teaspoonful of dissolved onion gravy granules. Stir together thoroughly. Add the sausages back to the pan, and simmer under glass until the gravy is significantly reduced in volume. This may take as long as thirty minutes - judge progress by eye.

Shortly before serving, I added a little pinch of oregano, and some pork stock. Dress with some freshly ground black pepper.

Pork Sausage wrapped in Bacon, with Spicy French Fries

I picked up a bargain pack of 'pigs in blankets' at Sainsbury's. Often served as a component of Christmas lunch, they are just as delicious as the main part of a meal.

I made the French fries first, dicing one large potato. The chipped potato was doused in a bowl containing about one dessert spoonful of a mixture of sunflower oil, tomato ketchup, vinegar, chilli powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, and coriander. Mixed together thoroughly and allowed to stand for fifteen or twenty minutes, with occasional further stir-throughs.

Coat a roasting tray with sunflower oil, and place the chips evenly across the surface. Place on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 190 deg C. Cook for between 35 and forty minutes, turning the chips halfway through.

The sausages were cooked for about sixteen or seventeen minutes in an oiled roasting tray on the middle shelf, also at 190 deg C (watch them closely and judge their readiness by eye). You can put the sausages into the oven with the chips about twenty minutes before the chips are ready, so they are both piping hot at the same time. If the shelf isn't big enough for two roasting trays, transfer the tray of chips to the base of the oven.

Served with half a can of Aldi brand baked beans, dressed in a dusting of coriander leaf and black pepper. Delicious!

Pork Sausage with Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Sage

An Italian style dish. Pork sausage pieces with shredded or shaved Brussel's sprouts, sage and garlic, topped with a little grated cheese.

Cut four pork sausages into between six and eight pieces each. Add to a pan of hot olive oil, and cook until evenly browned (about fifteen minutes or so, partly under glass at a medium heat). Turn the pieces occasionally.

Shred about fourteen Brussel's sprouts and add to a bowl. Add three crushed or chopped garlic cloves to the bowl. Heat a second pot drizzled with a thin layer of olive oil. Add the sprouts and the crushed garlic and stir frequently. Allow the sprouts and garlic to brown slightly, and then add about two tablespoonfuls of boiling water. Add half a teaspoonful of dried sage. Continue to stir. Turn the heat down when most of the water has evaporated (five to seven minutes depending on the heat).

Decant the shredded sprouts to a pasta bowl. Add the sausage pieces and stir together. Add about thirty grammes of finely grated cheddar cheese. Parmigiano Reggiano is another option.

One of the best dishes I've enjoyed! Cooked this way the strong flavour of the sprouts is considerably muted. Sometimes served also with some pasta.

Cumberland Sausage with Green Beans

Cumberland sausage (pricked) fried in a glass-lidded pan for twenty minutes, along with sliced onion, in a little sunflower oil. Cooked for the first fifteen minutes without the lid.

The potatoes were boiled in a separate pan for twenty minutes, along with the green beans.

Mix up the gravy browning with half a pint of water, and add to the sausages in the glass-lidded pan. Cook under glass until the gravy reduces and thickens (about thirty to forty minutes). Cumberland sausage contains herbs, and if the sausages are pricked, the flavour bleeds into the gravy.

Finally, add a pinch of paprika and stir it in to the gravy.

Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

A favourite dish!