Spicy Sausage Rice Recipe - Gordon Ramsay

It has to be said I've loved watching every minute of Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course on Channel 4 - fantastic recipes, fast and simple to make.

Not easy to photograph - my picture really doesn't do this dish justice.

Spicy sausage, peppers, red onion, tomatoes and spring onion cooked in one pot with chicken stock white wine and rice.

Sausages a Book and a Quiz!

Wow!  I didn't realise until now that there were quite so many different sausages in the world.  This amazing book shows more sausages along with descriptions than you can shake a stick at!

 If you're wanting to know how to make your own sausages including Chorizo, this book shows you how.

What's more there are even some yummy looking recipes too!

 Cumberland sausages with roasted root vegetables - picture taken from the book:

 If you think you know all there is to know about Sausages then why not have a go at the 'Silly Sausage Quiz' over at the DK website.

However, you might want to brush up on all things sausage first in which case you can buy the book - available from Dorling Kindersley.

  Written by Nichola Fletcher and Published by DK Publishing.

Thank you to Freddie for sending me the book. 

Horseradish Mash with Caramelised Onions and Sausages

There's nothing like a good dollop of mashed potato to cheer anyone up!  
But the addition of horseradish turns into something amazing.  That alongside caramelised onions and some nice fat sausages and you're really talking! 

Good quality butchers sausages are vital - none of those 'low in fat' things with the meat so minced up you have no idea what it is - not for me anyway.

The secret to making proper caramelised onions is they can't be hurried or rushed in any way at all.

Long, slow cooking over a low heat without stirring for a good while is what makes the onions soft and releases the natural sugar in them.

The result will be nice, brown onions that are almost gooey. 

Spatchcock Chicken with Aubergine, Roasted Tomatoes and Feta

Readers of this blog will remember the fantastic day I had back in May with Marco Pierre White and Knorr along with a lovely bunch of other food bloggers.

Now, as if the day wasn't already just the best day out ever, there was more to come!  We were told we'd be sent three Seasonal British produce boxes courtesy of Knorr.  As I was about to go on holiday, mine was sent a little later and arrived at the end of last week.

  Well, what a treat!  The box was huge and filled with lovely fresh Organic meat from The Well Hung Meat Company, Organic Vegetables and herbs from Rod and Ben's and some Knorr stock cubes.  It was hard to take a picture but buried beneath those beetroot leaves are potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and courgettes!

  Marco Pierre White uses these stock cubes to season meat, poultry and fish which really works well.  All you do is mix a small amount of olive oil with a Knorr stock cube and mix to make a paste.  He then adds a few finely chopped herbs, mixes and spreads over the meat and cooks on a griddle. 

So what to cook with all this fantastic meat and veg??!!

Marco has just released his latest recipe 'Spatchcocked Poussin with Aubergine'.  I loved the look of anyway, but I added roasted tomatoes and some crumbled feta.  It worked really well.  Marco's recipe for this can be found over at the Knorr website along with a whole lot more great recipes too!

I used a small chicken to make this instead of Poussin. 

I'll be sure to let you know what I make with the rest of this lovely seasonal box.
A big thank you again to Jen, Knoor, The Well Hung Meat Company and Rod and Ben's.

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Sausage and Pepper Casserole for the Slow Cooker

Another 'make it up as you go along experiment' of mine - Jan's Sausage and pepper slow cooker recipe!  Of course you can cook this in a casserole dish in the oven if you wish - for a lot less time though, obviously.

Sausages and mash with a lovely rich tomatoey, sweet peppery sauce.

Remember bell peppers are not spicy, just sweet, so this is ideal for kids and it's perfect for freezing too.

Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2011

Did you know that the 23rd to the 29th of January it's Farmhouse Breakfast week?  What better way to start the day and 'Shake Up Your Wake Up' with 'proper' bacon from Denhay Farm.

 Breakfast as we all know, is the most important meal of the day.  Now sadly, we don't all have time to cook a full English every morning.  Also it has to be said it's not the healthiest breakfast option.  However, once a week, say on a lazy Saturday, I say it has to be good for you.  Even a little fried bread wont hurt you!  I have to tell you I ate the lot of the breakfast you see in the picture above - but, I wasn't hungry all day so there was no snacking which has to be a good thing!
Using good quality sausages and bacon help the keep the fat content down.  

I used Denhay Farm dry cured 'spoilt pig' bacon and there was none of that horrid water you find when cooking some bacon.  Oh and I love the name 'spoilt pig'!  

Farmhouse Breakfast Week is an annual campaign run by the HGCA  which has been running since the year 2000. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast and demonstrate the variety on offer. 

Here are a few facts about breakfast:

* Breakfast eaters tend to be slimmer than breakfast skippers.
    * Eating breakfast can aid concentration and mental performance at work and at school.
    * It provides you with the nutrients and energy needed for an active lifestyle.
    * Research shows that breakfast eaters are less depressed and have lower levels of stress than breakfast skippers.

To get involved in Farmhouse Breakfast Week and to find out more then visit Shake up your wake up!

Thank you to Nickie and Denhay farm for sending me some lovely bacon to try.

Toad in the Hole with Brown Onion and Madeira Gravy

 Yummy, yummy, but I took the picture before the gravy and then forgot to take another.  So, no gravy to be seen here but the recipe is below!

I only used 6 sausages since there are only two of us - this will easily serve 4 you just need 8 sausages.

Jan's Sausage Casserole

Seriously good, tasty and easy sausage casserole - perfect for cold nights.
A week or so ago here in the UK, Summer gave Autumn a miss and went straight back into Winter!  And so my sausage casserole or whatever you might want to call it was invented.  

 Anyway, on with the food. I had bit's and bobs in the fridge but nothing that would make a dinner. What I mean is, I had one courgette and one red pepper and some celery, not going to get fat on that are we? 
I did have sausages in the freezer that along with a good dollop of mashed potato, the perfect cold weather dinner was done.

Sausages with Champ Mash and Caramelised Shallot Gravy

Champ is an Irish dish of mashed potatoes with spring onions and goes down really well with sausages. But sausage and mash (or bangers and mash as it's also called) also needs a good onion gravy. I used shallots seeing as I had loads.



To make the champ you will need:
8 medium sized floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, King Edwards or Desiree
6 large spring onions - finely sliced
300ml full fat milk
75g butter
salt

Peel and quarter the potatoes. Put them in a large pan of cold, salted water and bring to the boil with a lid to partly cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are just cooked.
Drain the water from them, cover the pan and let it sit in a warm place for about three minutes, this will allow the potatoes to become soft and completely cooked.
Wash and finely chop the spring onions. In a small saucepan put the milk and a good amount of butter (about 75g) bring to the boil.
Put the chopped spring onions into the boiling milk, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for about one minute.
Mash the potatoes well and stir in the milk and onions until everything is smooth. Check for seasoning and keep warm till you're ready to serve.

For the Shallot Gravy:

10 shallots
butter and olive oil for frying
2 tablespoons of flour
make up 300ml hot chicken stock
a good glug of red wine

Finely slice the shallots. Now add a knob of butter and a little olive oil to a frying pan and fry them over medium heat.
You need to cook them slowly until they are nicely caramelised and are a good even brown colour.
This will take about 20 minutes. Don't try to rush as it’s essential to give the gravy both its deep brown colour, and sweet flavour.
You don't want the gravy to taste of raw onion.

When you are satisfied with the colour of the onions, sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of flour and stir round to absorb any cooking fat and juices.
Add a good glug of red wine. Add a few freshly picked thyme leaves (lemon thyme is good if you have it) and mix well together while the alcohol evaporates.

Now add about 200ml of the stock. Don't add it all at once, you can always add more later if you think your sauce is too thick.
Stir well, and simmer the gravy for 10-15 minutes. When the gravy is done stir in a knob of cold butter and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.



Serve both the champ and the shallot gravy with good quality sausages. I like both Lincolnshire or Cumberland sausages even though they are both quite different in taste.

Sausage Rolls with Wholegrain Mustard

I made some sausage rolls yesterday, but fancied putting wholegrain mustard in them. They turned out rather nice I must say.

What you need:

1 x 500g pack of ready made puff pastry

450g of good quality sausages - skin removed
Approx. 4 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 egg - beaten, to glaze

How to do it:
Preheat oven to 220C/200ºC for fan assisted /425F or Gas Mark 7

Cut the pastry in half so it's an easier size to manage. Roll out one half to make an oblong about 0.5mm thick and cut that in half.

Repeat with the other half of the pastry so you now have 4 oblong pieces of pastry. Spread the centre of each pastry piece with some mustard, leaving a border on each long side.

Divide the sausage meat into four and place one quarter slightly off centre down the length of one of the pastry oblongs, over the mustard and make into a roll.

Brush one border with beaten egg and fold over the pastry to cover the sausagemeat and form a side seal along the edge of the roll.

With a sharp knife tidy the edges, cut the roll into equal sized sausage rolls. They can be however long or short if you want cocktail size rolls.

Brush the tops with beaten egg. Make 2-3 slashes in the top of each sausage roll.
Now place the sausage rolls on a baking sheet and bake for approx. 15 minutes until pastry is risen and golden brown, serve either hot or cold.

Sausage and Guinness Casserole with Mustard Mash

Delicious filling meal just perfect for cold winter days.

Print Recipe

This amount will serve two greedy people. But you could add a couple more sausages and it would easily serve four.

To serve 2 greedy people you will need:

1/2 a tablespoon of vegetable oil

6 good quality pork sausages - mine were pork and leek

2 large onions - sliced

2 celery sticks - chopped

2 carrots - peeled, sliced length ways and cut into 2 inch sticks

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of English mustard - Colman's is best

8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon - chopped

2 tablespoons of plain flour

440ml can Guinness

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

250ml beef stock - I used 1 Knorr stock cube in 250ml hot water

3 tablespoons of tomato puree

150g chestnut mushrooms - halved

salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste

Preheat your oven to 170C/325F or Gas 3

You will need a casserole dish that, ideally, can go both on the oven top and also in the oven. Just saves on the washing up!

Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the sausages and brown them all over. Don't fuss about them cooking through as they will have plenty of time to cook later. Remove and set aside.

Now, in the same pan, add the bacon. Cook until it starts to brown and crisp up nicely. Once done, remove and set aside with the sausages.

Using the same pan, add the onions, carrots and celery and sugar.

Cook stirring until the onions have softened - about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for a couple more minutes.

Now stir in the flour and add the Guinness and bring to the boil. Now add the stock, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

Return the sausages and bacon to the pan. Season with a little salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Now put the casserole into your preheated oven and cook on a low heat - you just want it simmering - not boiling. I left mine in for 1 and a half hours until the carrots were nicely cooked through.

I did some mustard mash to go with it - just mashed potato with some wholegrain mustard stirred though.