Tag: sausage

Sausage ragu pasta bake

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

The ultimate warming winter pasta dish. Eat it on a chilly day, it’s like a radiator for your insides. Feeds 2 generously

  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 4 sausages
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 3 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 250ml red wine
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 200g pasta shapes
  • Cheddar, grated
  1. In a deep frying pan, heat the oil over medium high
  2. Squeeze the sausages into pieces into the pan and break up further with a wooden spoon
  3. Cook until well-browned and then remove from the pan
  4. Reduce the temperature and add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic to the pan
  5. Cook, stirring often, until soft
  6. Add the stock cube and tomato puree, stir well to combine and cook for a couple of mins
  7. Add the wine and turn the heat up. Use the liquid to scrape the brown off the bottom of the pan
  8. Add the tinned tomatoes, half a tin of water, thyme, bay leaf, sugar, salt and pepper
  9. Bring to a bubble, then add the sausage back in
  10. Simmer for 20-30 mins until thickened and rich
  11. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C) and cook the pasta in salted boiling water, draining it 2-3 mins before it’s fully cooked
  12. Mix the undercooked pasta with the sauce and tip the whole thing into a casserole dish, top with grated cheese and bake for 20-30 mins until golden and bubbling
  13. Allow to sit for 10 mins until it’s slightly less hot than a lake of boiling lava, then serve with a crispy green salad

Tortellini soup

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Comfort in a bowl. Warm, savoury, and so simple it’s a great weeknight meal. Feeds 2 hungry people

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 4 sausages
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small carrot, finely diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 chicken stock cube (plus 750ml boiling water)
  • 250ml white wine
  • 250g fresh tortellini
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh thyme
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 50 ml cream
  • 100g young spinach
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat
  2. Pinch off small pieces of sausage, drop them into the pan and brown them on all sides
  3. Scoop the sausage out of the pan and put on one side
  4. Lower the heat and put the onion, carrot, celery and garlic into the pan
  5. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins until everything is soft
  6. Add the stock cube and tomato puree, stirring into the vegetables until everything combines
  7. Pour in the white wine and turn the heat to medium. Bubble until the wine has almost disappeared
  8. Add 750ml boiling water, sausage pieces and some fresh thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and stir everything together
  9. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low and simmer for 7 mins
  10. Tip in the fresh tortellini and cook for a further 3 mins (or as per the directions on the packaging)
  11. Mix the cornflour with a little water and pour into the soup, stirring as you add it
  12. Cook for another 2 mins until the soup thickens, then turn the heat off and add the cream and spinach (the spinach should just wilt in the heat of the soup – turn the heat on to a low simmer if you need to give this a helping hand)
  13. Serve immediately in a big, deep bowl, maybe with a grating of parmesan and a sprinkle of finely chopped chives

Spicy sausage stew and dumplings

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A dish as happy outdoors as indoors, cook it over a campfire or on the stove. Either way, people will be happy to dig their spoons into this russet red bowl of warm loveliness. Feeds 4

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 pork sausages
  • 1 piece of chorizo about sausage-sized, cut into pieces
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 red pepper, cut into 2cm pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • ½ pint veg stock
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 heaped tbsp paprika
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp thyme
  1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole or saucepan over a medium heat
  2. Briefly cook the chorizo until some of the oil starts to come out, then remove from the pan
  3. Pop the sausages in and brown them, then remove (they don’t have to be cooked through)
  4. Tip in all the veg
  5. Cook over a medium heat until the onions are softened
  6. Sprinkle over the flour, stir in and cook for a minute
  7. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, stock, herbs and sugar, season and stir everything together
  8. Cut the sausages into pieces. Weirdly this is easier with kitchen scissors than a knife
  9. Add the sausages pieces and chorizo
  10. Cook over a low heat with the lid on (or in the oven at 140C fan) for 45 mins, stirring occasionally. Add more water if it thickens too much.
  11. Check the seasoning, maybe add a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of chopped parsley, maybe a dollop of plain yogurt on top, and serve.

I love this stew with dumplings, cooked in the stew. There’s a couple of types you could do. One is a flour dumpling, the other made with bread. I don’t know which I like best. Both result in dumplings that are light, tender and deeply satisfying. Pop them into this stew, add them to soup, casserole, stew. Lucky for you, both recipes are below. I love this combination of textures and tastes (especially with this stew), but feel free to vary the flavourings.

REGULAR DUMPLINGS

  • 100g flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 50g shredded vegetable suet (like Atora)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 4 tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 4-5 tbsp cold water
  1. Mix dry ingredients (that’s everything except the water)
  2. Add the water gradually as you mix
  3. Knead dough briefly to bring it together
  4. Form into small dumplings about 1 inch diameter
  5. Drop into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  6. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 30 mins. Test and then give them longer if needed

BREAD DUMPLINGS

  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 70g plain yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 40g butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 4 tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 150g fresh white breadcrumbs
  1. Whisk together all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs
  2. Add the breadcrumbs and mix gently until just combined
  3. Shape the mixture into 12 dumplings
  4. Drop into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  5. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 15-20 mins