Sausage and home made baked bean casserole

• 400g home made baked beans (view baked been recipe)
• 8 pork sausages (each one cut into 4 slices)
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into small bite size pieces
• 1 pint vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp English mustard
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• Pinch of salt
• Few grinds of freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and cook the sausages until browned all over.  Add the carrots and onions and cook for a further 10 minutes until softened.  Add the stock, mustard, parsley, pepper and a pinch of salt, stir everything through and bring to the boil.  Add the homemade baked beans to the sausage mixture, stir, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Once cooked through, divide the casserole between 4 bowls, sprinkle over some extra parsley and enjoy.

Whilst it is summer, on days like this, comfort food is called for!  You can use store bought baked beans however home made baked beans make this dish a bit more special.  Likewise use whichever sausages you prefer, there are a good variety of flavours out there so mix it up a bit, give some extra flavour to the dish.  I served this with some mashed potato and it went down a treat.

Sausage balls with a mushroom and blue cheese sauce

Sausage balls with a mushroom and blue cheese sauce

• Pack of 6 quality sausages
• 450ml beef stock
• 250ml double cream
• Large handful of crumbled blue cheese
• 200g button mushrooms, halved
• Handful of chopped chives
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Large knob of butter
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and Pepper
• Vegetable/Rapeseed oil

Method:

Remove the skins from the sausages and divide each sausage into 3 and roll each piece into a small ball.  Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat and cook the sausage balls, turning every so often until they are evenly browned.  Remove any excess fat, pour in the stock, bring to the boil and let it reduce down slightly.  Add the cream and mustard and season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 20 minutes.  At this stage add a large knob of butter to a medium sized pan and heat until the butter has melted and starts to sizzle, add the mushrooms and give a good stir to ensure the mushrooms get a good coating of butter, season with plenty of black pepper and a good few glugs of Worcestershire sauce stir again and leave to cook on a low to medium heat.

After the sausage balls have been cooking for 20 minutes, remove them from the pan and place onto a warm dish.  Turn the heat up under the frying pan, add the blue cheese and the mushrooms (which should have absorbed the liquid from the pan and be nice and dark), stir through and leave to bubble away away until the sauce thickens.  Prior to serving, add the chopped chives and return the sausage balls to the pan and mix well.

This is my first recipe of the New Year and what a one to start with!  Pretty straightforward which is what I like, packed full of flavour and a good hearty dish to boot.  I served this with a good helping of creamy mashed potato but it would go equally well with pasta, especially as there is plenty of sauce.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did, let me know what you think.

Sausage balls with a mushroom and blue cheese sauce

Breakfast frittata

Breakfast frittata

• 12 chipolata sausages
• 2 large handfuls of grated cheese
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 10 eggs, lightly beaten
• Couple glugs of whole milk
• 1 small pepper, finely diced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Couple pinches of Turkish pepper flakes (if you have them!)

Firstly lightly grease your tin, I have a small non stick roasting tin, 9"x12" and 2" deep which is perfect for this recipe.  Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, whilst this is warming up cut up your sausages, you want about 6 pieces from each sausage.

Crack the eggs into a jug, add a few glugs of milk and season with salt and pepper and then lightly beat.  Place the cut sausages into the tin and cook in the oven until browned through (around 10 minutes).  Once cooked, place the spinach over the top of the sausages and then pour over the egg mix.  Sprinkle the diced pepper over the top of the mixture followed by the cheese, gently push down onto the top as you want the egg mix to cover the ingredients.  Place the halved cherry tomatoes evenly around. Grind some more pepper over the top and sprinkle on some of the Turkish pepper flakes (optional if you have them!), return the tin to the oven and cook for around 30 minutes until the top is browned slightly and the frittata is firm to the touch.

I only call this breakfast frittata as I make this for my partners breakfast however it is perfect for any time of the day, brunch, lunch or dinner served with a nice crisp salad or some cheeky feta fries!  It is so versatile, you can pretty much put what you like in with the egg mix, mushrooms are another firm favourite for this dish, enjoy!

Breakfast frittata

Beef Hotlink Souvlaki Wrap with Tzatziki

 Beef Hotlink Souvlaki Wrap with Tzatziki

A while back I came up with some traditional recipes with a Mexican twist, one of which was my Mexican Toad In The Hole.  For this recipe I was looking for a Mexican style sausage and this is when I came across Angusandoink.com who sell a variety of sausages, rubs and hot sauces. 

 I bought some of their Jalapeño & Cheese sausages with Mr Rubba Rubba Seasoning and Rub along with some beef hotlinks with the Generals Seasoning and Rub.  All I can say is if you like your sausage then you need to check out Angusandoink, seriously good quality sausages packed with flavour, I will be trying some of their other products soon, they were that good!  

Whilst I had in mind what to do with the jalapeño & cheese sausages, I was yet to come up with something a bit different to try out the beef hotlinks on - that was until I paid a visit to Greek on the Street at Boxpark Croydon where I had the loukaniko beef and pork Greek sausage souvlaki wrap. This was so delicious I decided to try and re-create this at home using the beef hotlinks, along with a couple of the traditional Greek wraps that the manager Vicky from Greek on the Street kindly let me have.  Just to say, I am trying to persuade them to sell the wraps as they really are good!

• Pack of beef hotlinks
• Greek wraps
• Red onion, finely sliced
• Small bag of rocket leaves
• 1 pepper, thinly sliced 
• Handful of sliced black olives
• Feta cheese, crumbled
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Half a cucumber, peeled
• Tablespoon of mint, finely chopped
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp Greek natural yoghurt
• Couple of pinches of dried oregano

Method:
Place the hotlinks onto a baking tray and place under a preheated grill for around 20 minutes or so, until cooked through.  

Whilst the sausages are cooking, prepare the tzatziki.  Place the yoghurt into a bowl along with the mint, lemon juice and salt.  Using a box grater, grate the peeled cucumber, squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber and combine in the bowl with the yoghurt mix.

Heat a frying pan (one big enough for the wraps) and dry fry each wrap for around a minute each side until warmed through.  Place a wrap onto each plate and spread with some of the tzatziki and top this with some of the rocket leaves.  I then cut each sausage down the middle lengthways and allowed three slices for each wrap.  Having placed the sausages on top of the rocket I then topped with the red onion, peppers, tomatoes, olives and some crumbled feta.

Feta Fries

Having experienced the feta fries at Greek on the Street, I thought it would be rude not to also have a stab at making my own to go with the wrap.  I cooked some chunky frozen chips according to pack instructions, once done I tossed with some dried oregano and sprinkled some crumbled feta over the top.  I swear, once you try these fries, you will be hooked!

This dish was a huge hit in my household and the hotlinks really added to the whole dish, really meaty and tasty, I will definitely be making this again. I would recommend paying Angusandoink a visit to try out some of their products, you won't be disappointed, trust me.  

Sage, Chilli and Feta Sausage Rolls

Sage, chilli and feta sausage rolls

• Olive oil for frying
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 6 sage leaves finely chopped
• Kankun habanero sauce 
• 1 tsp dried oregano (plus extra for dusting)
• 200g crumbled feta
• 450g sausagemeat
• 2 X 320g packs ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

Method:

Heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade or 180 for fan assisted.  Heat a glug of oil in a frying pan and fry the onions for around 5 minutes over a medium heat.  Add the garlic and fry for a further 3 minutes and tip out into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool.  

Add the sage, oregano, feta and a good few glugs of the Kankun habanero sauce and sausagemeat to the onion mix.  Season with salt and pepper and then mix it all together, combining all of the ingredients with the sausagemeat.  Unroll one of the sheets of pastry and cut in half lengthways. Place a quarter of the sausage mixture down each length of pastry, just off centre.  Lightly brush the wide edge of the pastry with the egg glaze, then fold over to encase the filling, leaving a small lip of pastry.  Press down along the pastry lip to seal, using the back of a fork.  Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle some oregano over the top.  Cut the roll into the size you wish and place onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper, repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.  Bake for around 30 minutes until risen and golden and the meat is cooked through.  

For the last few years it has become a tradition to make sausage rolls on Christmas Eve and certainly something my partner looks forward to, he does love to eat them pretty much out of the oven! This is the first time I have tried this recipe, to say I was impressed is an understatement, the flavour is awesome and you get a good kick of heat from the kankun habanero sauce, I think this is a new found favourite in our household and certainly one that my partner Scott enjoyed, given the amount he has already eaten!  Luckily I was able to take some photographs before they all vanished!

Recipe adapted from Delicious Magazine

Hearty Toulouse Sausage Cassoulet with a Kick of Chilli

Hearty Toulouse Sausage Cassoulet with a Kick of Chilli

• 4 Toulouse sausages
• 1 Tin cannellini beans
• 1/2 Chicken stock pot
• 1 Small onion finely diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic minced
• 3 Sprigs thyme
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Red chilli
• 1 Cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp tomato purée
• 2 Tbsp Chopped parsley

Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.  Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and cook the onion and garlic for around 5 minutes until softened.  Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 2 minutes.  Chop the tomatoes in half and add to the pan, add the beans, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and the half of stock cube with 100ml of water, season with salt and pepper and let it bubble away for 20 minutes or until it thickens.  Make some incisions down the side of the chilli and add to the pan.  Grill the sausages for 15-20 minutes until fully cooked.  Serve the sausages on top of the bean cassoulet and sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top.

Recipe courtesy of HelloFresh