Sausage, Cannellini Bean and Pumpkin Stew

Sometimes, when it is cold and rainy and you feel under the weather, it HAS to be a stew - or soup - or something in between the two, as this is.  Essentially, this is good pork sausages, browned, then braised in herby stock with cannellini beans, carrots and chunks of squash and potato.  Lovely served in a big bowl with crusty bread, and under a fiver if you are careful with your shopping - don't skimp on the bangers, though, they should be the best quality you can afford.  For 4, take a pack of 6 or 8 bangers, halving them if you like, and brown a little in a tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole or ovenproof pot.  Remove, then add an onion, chopped, 2 cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, a sprig of rosemary, a large potato, cut into chunks (peel if you like), a couple of carrots, also cut into chunks and a wedge of pumpkin or squash of similar quantity to the potato and carrots, peeled and cut into chunks.  Stir this all together in the fat in the pan.  Whilst this is happening, dissolve a chicken stock cube in a pint of boiling water with a tablespoon of tomato puree and a good splosh of Worcesterrrrrshire Sauce and pour over the veg.  Bring to the boil, then tip in a tin of drained cannellini beans (or any other tinned bean of preference, rinsed too) and then place the bangers back on top.  Cover, and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or so until the veg is soft and the liquid has reduced a little - a temperature of about 180C should do nicely.  Sprinkle over some chopped fresh parsley and dish up the soupy beany stew with thick hunks of crusty bread to dip into the herby broth.  Then go back to bed and feel sorry for yourself, albeit on a full tum.  That's what I did.

The lifecycle of roast duck: Quick Cassoulet

A proper cassoulet is something you should make once in a lifetime.  Freshly soaked and cooked haricot beans, proper confit duck, chunks of braised pork belly, authentic, coarse garlicky Toulouse sausages.  It is a wonderful, rich and complex dish, quite fatty, cooked for ages and probably not for the faint-hearted.  This version, on the other hand, is simple, quick and healthy, and made perfect TV supper fodder in a bowl.  Don't skimp on the quality of the ingredients, though, as simplicity exposes cheap products.  So, I started with the remaining 2 roast duck legs from the weekend, skinned and pulled from the bones in large chunks.  Then I halved three fresh Toulouse-style sausages - most supermarkets do them these days - mine were from Waitrose.  The sausages were browned in a cast iron casserole in a tablespoon of olive oil and a very finely chopped onion and carrot.  Next, half a tin or so of good chopped tomatoes were added - I use the Cirio brand.  To this was added a clove of garlic, chopped, the duck meat, about 300mls of veg stock and a big jar of good white beans - mine were from the Reflets du France range at Ocado.  Drain and rinse them, then chuck into the sauce.  Add a handful of chopped parsley and bake, uncovered, at 180 for half-an-hour.  Now, blend a tablespoon of parsley with a slice of white bread and sprinkle on top of the casserole.  Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes until the crumbs have gone brown and crusty.  Let everything settle for a few minutes then scoop into bowls and eat with a spoon!  Enough for 2 with leftovers for hubby tomorrow.

Roasted Sausages and Root Vegetables with Sweet Chilli Glaze

A great bung-it-all-in-the-oven main course, this and perfect Saturday night family fodder with a green salad.  You peel and chop root veg - whatever you have in the house, I used a parsnip, a couple of carrots and an onion.  Toss in a tablespoon of olive oil and scatter on a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Add some good sausages (we like Porkinson's Bangers, but good butcher's sausages at least, please!) and rub a little oil onto them too - this is fun........Now, bake at 180C for half an hour until the veg is tender and the sausages nice and brown.  Give everything a good stir, turn the bangers over, and then brush on a good couple of tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce to glaze everything.  Return to the oven for a final 10 minutes, then dish up, mixing the melted sauce into everything as you serve.  A dish of crisp, simply-dressed lettuce leaves is a nice accompaniment, as is a glass of Old Noll ale from my boss's own micro-brewery, Cherwell Valley.   photo courtesy of tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com

Pot-roast Pigeon with Luganega Sausage [#160]

One of the joys of the Aldeburgh Food Festival was that it was held during the season for a lot of game birds (no jokes about me being a game bird, please!). We were able to get hold of a couple of partridges, now safely in the freezer, and also some dinky woodpigeon breasts just right for this recipe. The Wild Meat Company in Suffolk has the most wonderful supplies, and prepares them for the cook beautifully. Procuring fresh bay leaves was more problematic, and I must offer apologies to the stand at the festival selling herb plants - one of your bushes is short a couple of leaves......sorry! The Luganega Sausage was also a wee bit problematic, not because they weren't available, but rather the sausage supplier at the festival had run out!! So, we went with Nigel's alternative of good chipolatas from the stall instead, Proctor's of Ipswich. This was a rich and tasty way of cooking pigeon, although I would shorten the cooking time if I do this again. Lovely with creamy mash and local Suffolk Kale, though, and a good bottle of Chianti. Sorry for the stock photo.

Pan-fried Sausages with Cream and Mustard Mash [#152]

Phew! Racking the Nigel recipes up - this is the sixth in five days, and I only have 40 left to finish the challenge off. I was really late home from work tonight, a combination of having loads to do and also snarled-up traffic thanks to the combined efforts of Oxford's roadworks ("We're doing this for you" says the council - oh, ARE you now!) and the annual St. Giles' Fair which closes the city centre down. So, into the Co-op for some really nice red pepper and chilli outdoor-reared sausages (oh Mummy, look at those sausages gambolling in the field!), and Nigel's mustardy mash. Didn't use as much mustard OR cream as he does (half a pint of cream for mash for two!!!!) but it was very comforting with a big pile of runner beans. (I notice Nige's online recipe is more modest with the dairy and mustard - interesting...)

Baked Sausage, Black Pudding and Parsnips

Well, to be honest, we thought this dish was going to be a dog's dinner - onions, parsnips, sausages, black pudding, browned in a roasting tin then baked with chicken stock. Surprise, surprise! (sorry to sound like Cilla Black) It was delicious, especially with a potato chucked in for good measure and lovely fresh, green cabbage to lift the look and flavour. Think of it as the equivalent of a fry-up but with parsnips! Nice on a cold, drizzly night with great lumps of ice still persisting in the streets.

Sausage and Salami Stew with Lentils

This was a hearty and quick-to-make stew, made even easier by the use of a tin of Epicure Lentilles Verts. I substituted chorizo for the salami as I prefer the flavour, and I also added a good handful of chopped parsley at the end. Nice served with crusty bread, and loads left over for our lunches tomorrow. Nigel says this recipe serves two, but I think you'd have to be very greedy (even greedier than us!) to put half a pot of this away each!