Sausage and Chicken Pie with Sage and Onion Stuffing

This pie is pretty much Delia Smith’s recipe from the Complete Cookery Course.  I added some leftover sage and onion stuffing and adjusted the sausage layer slightly!

This is a lovely way to use up leftover cooked chicken and stuffing, and stretch the dregs of Sunday’s roast dinner one more day.  If you don’t have any leftover stuffing, you can make it fresh – the method I give below is the way my friend’s lovely late mother-in-law used to make it.

For the stuffing :

3 or 4 thick slices of bread, crusts cut off

½ small onion

2 generous handfuls of fresh sage (or 1 dsp of dry)

Salt and pepper to taste

Simply pop everything into a blender or food processor and blitz.  Heat a little goose fat, duck fat, chicken dripping (or olive oil!) in a frying pan and sautee the stuffing for a few minutes until it becomes slightly crispy.  Set aside to cool.

For the pie :

1 pack of shortcrust pastry

8 good meaty sausages

Appx 1 cup of leftover cooked chicken

Appx 1 cup of leftover stuffing

¼ tsp ground mace

½ tsp sage

Salt and pepper to taste

The dish I used is a 7” diameter quiche dish.

Skin the sausages and place into a large mixing bowl as you go.  Season with salt and pepper, add the sage and mace and then mix together with your hands.

Roll out your pastry and line the base of your dish, spread half the sausagemeat over the pastry, then add half the stuffing, all of the chicken and season with a little salt and pepper.  Add the rest of the stuffing and finally the remainder of the sausagemeat.  Roll out a pastry lid and top and finish your pie.

I cooked mine at 180^oC / 350^oF / gas mark 5 for an 45 to 50 minutes.  If the pie begins to brown too much pop a folded sheet of greaseproof paper on top.

Sausage, Bacon and Black Pudding Terrine

I came up with this idea for those of us who love an occasional treat of a Full English breakfast, but who just can’t face all the cooking and frying on a Sunday morning, not to mention all the washing up afterwards! 

Just prepare and cook this terrine on a Saturday afternoon, leave to cool and slice up ready for the morning.  Leftovers can be frozen and simply need defrosting before reheating on a griddle when you want a good breakfast. 

All you need with this are some grilled tomatoes, maybe a fried or scrambled egg and a piece of toast. 

I used : 

1 ½ x 450g packs of Cumberland sausages

250g whole black sausage (cut to fit your tin)

10 medium thickness rashers of bacon 

2lb loaf tin

 

Firstly line your loaf tin with the rashers (slices) of bacon, overlapping one another and overhanging the sides of the loaf tin. 

Skin the sausages and place in a basin, season to taste with a little salt and black pepper (and some fresh sage if you have some to hand), and then mix to form a large ball of sausage meat. 

Take half of the sausage meat and layer in the bottom of the loaf tin, on top of the bacon.  Cut the black pudding to fit your loaf tin and place that on top of the bottom layer of sausage meat.  Take the remainder of the sausage meat and form it around, and on top of the black pudding, encasing it completely. 

Finally, fold over the overhanging bacon to cover the sausage meat. 

Bake at 190^oC  / 375^oF  /  gas mark 5 for 45 minutes.  Turn out of the loaf tin and place on an oven proof plate or tray and pop back into the oven to brown the sides and (now) top of the terrine.

 

You can eat it straight away, or you can leave to cool and slice up, reheating in a griddle pan, under the grill or in the oven when you are ready.

 

Goliath Sausages

Autumn has come to my world surprisingly early this year.  It’s only mid-September and yet the blackberries have gone over, the night time temperatures have slipped to single figures and the mornings are chilly.  Taking the dog for an evening stroll now means returning to the cosy glow of a lamp lit home. 

Yesterday was one such perfect autumn day.  We had a lovely romp out in the cool sunshine and then came home to put this casserole together.  The only thing missing in my world was the Aga!! 

This dish is really just a pared down version of the Guinness sausages recipe I gave a few months ago.  I called it Goliath sausages because I cooked them in one of my husband’s favourite ales – Wychwood’s Goliath ale.  In reality, you could use any ale or dark beer of your choice! 

For two of us I used : 

6 good meaty sausages

2 large onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 small carrot

1 sprig of rosemary

1 bayleaf

1tb flour

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 anchovy (optional, but gives a lovely meaty depth of flavour)

Salt and pepper to taste

1tb olive oil 

Firstly, brown the sausages all over.  While they are browning, peel and slice the onions into thick half-moons. 

Cook the onions in the olive oil for 10 to 15 minutes, so that they get nice and brown without burning.  Peel and dice the carrot and cook with the onions.  Finely chop the garlic and add that, cooking for a few minutes.  Add the anchovy and push around the base of the pan to ‘melt’ it. 

Add the flour to the onions and carrot and mix well in, gently pour in the ale (so that it doesn’t froth up too much) and stir in.  Add the rosemary, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce and sausages and give another stir.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Bring to a simmer on the hob and then cover with a close fitting lid.  Cook in the oven at 150^oC/275^o F/gas mark 1 for 3 hours.  You want to have a nice gravy with this so if it seems to dry out at all just add a little more boiling water (half a cup or so). 

This really is best served with buttery mashed potato to mop up the gravy!

 

Herby Roasted Sausages and Root Vegetables

This is such a quick and easy dish to put together that it’s perfect fare for a weeknight dinner.  It’s also relatively inexpensive, and quite filling. 

Obviously you can use whatever assortment of root vegetables you and your family prefer, or have to hand.  The quantities are easily adjusted to suit the number of people that you are feeding too. 

The recipe (such as it is!) given below is what I used to feed two of us. 

6 good meaty sausages (I always prefer Cumberland)

1 large carrot

½ medium swede (rutabaga)

1 large potato

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

Appx 1tb each of chopped fresh rosemary and sage (use less if using dried herbs)

1tb olive oil

To prepare simply peel and dice the potato and carrot into nice big chunks, cut the swede into smaller pieces as it will take longer to cook.  Peel the onion, halve it and cut each half into quarters.  Peel and slice the garlic and finally wash and chop the herbs. 

Simply toss all of the prepared vegetables, herbs and sausages in a large roasting tin with the olive oil and finally add a seasoning of black pepper. 

Cook in a hot oven (220^oC / 425^oF / gas 7) for approximately 45 minutes.

Sausage and Leek Pie

The idea for this delicious pie was given to me by my Mother, who saw a TV chef (I think she said it was Phil Vickery) make it on television.  I couldn’t wait to try it out.  As my husband loves sausages in all shape or form I knew it would be a winner with him!

This is what I did, it will serve four people, or two people twice!

1 pack of ready-made shortcrust pastry

8 good quality meaty sausages

1 leek

1 knob of butter

1 bunch of herbs to your personal taste, I used sage and rosemary from my garden

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 egg (optional) 

Simply clean the leeks, halve lengthways and slice.  Sweat gently in the butter until the leeks have softened. 

Skin the sausages and place in a mixing bowl, add the chopped herbs and season with black pepper.  Mix thoroughly with your hands. 

Line a pie dish or plate with the pastry, keeping enough back for the lid. 

Add a generous layer of sausage meat to the bottom of the pie, top with the sautéed leeks and then a final layer of sausage meat.  Add a pastry lid to the pie and brush with beaten egg (or milk if you don’t want to waste a good egg washing pastry!). 

Cook at 150^oC / 300^oF / gas mark 2 for an 1¾  to 2 hours.  If the pies begin to brown too much before the end of the cooking time simply cover with a folded sheet of greaseproof paper to protect them. 

This pie will be delicious with a generous dollop of either tomato ketchup or your brown sauce of choice!

Creamy Courgette Pasta with Sausage Meatballs

My husband absolutely loves sausages so I am always looking for different ways to cook them for him.  Pasta is one of my favourite meals, in any form, so sausages with pasta makes an appearance in our house frequently.  This is a very quick and simple meal to make for workdays, especially if you make and cook the meatballs the night before you want them. 

 

Sausage meatballs are an absolute doddle to make and well worth making in bulk to keep in the freezer for future use.   

To serve two people generously you want : 

1lb good quality sausages (or sausagemeat) 

½ pint chicken stock

1 courgette (zucchini)

Half of an 8oz (200g) pack of garlic and herb Philladelphia

6 to 8oz (180 to 200g) dry weight of penne/rigatoni.

Generous handful of rocket (arugula) 

To make the sausage meatballs simply skin the sausages and pinch each into about three pieces, rolling the pieces into balls as you go.  You could fry them on the hob, but I can’t bear frying so I pop them into the oven to cook.  They will only want 20 to 30 minutes in a hot oven – but keep an eye on them.  (If you don’t want to use all the meatballs (and I never do), pop the unused cooked ones into the freezer for another time.) 

Prepare the courgette by cutting it into pieces roughly the same size as the penne/rigatoni.  Cook the pasta according to packet directions.  While the pasta is cooking you can get on with the sauce. 

To make the creamy sauce simply simmer the courgette and cooked meatballs in the chicken stock, in a wide frying pan until the stock has reduced a little.  Add half a tub of garlic and herb cream cheese (low fat is just as good) and stir into the stock until it is smooth. 

Drain the pasta and add to the creamy meatballs and stir well to combine.  Add a handful of fresh rocket and stir again. 

If you are making this with meatballs that haven’t been frozen then it is well worth doubling up on the quantity and stashing the extra in the freezer to make a pasta bake on another evening.

To cut down on cost and time, it is worth making the sausage meatballs when you have the oven on for something else and stashing them in the freezer to use at a later date.  When you want to use them you simply need to defrost overnight. 

Sausages braised in Guinness, in a Yorkshire pudding.

My hubby absolutely loves sausages, in any way, shape or form!  I always feel that sausages are at their best made into a gravy dinner, with what we in Wales call ‘potch’ (swede (rutabaga) and potato mashed together) and lots of fried caramelised onions.   

One of my favourite way of serving them is braised in red wine as you have a delicious gravy to go with them, and I often serve them in a Yorkshire pudding as one of my ‘dinners in a Yorkshire Pudding’.  You do need mashed potato with such delicious gravy so we usually either have ‘potch’ or colcannon (mashed potato with cabbage and leeks). 

For today though I decided to experiment with cooking them in Guinness.  Hubby loved it, as an experiment it was a resounding success! 

For two people : 

6 good meaty sausages (I like Cumberland)

1tb olive oil

1 good knob of butter

2 onions

½ tsp sugar

1tb flour

1 (440ml/half pint) can of Guinness

¼ pint of beef stock (½ a cup)

1tsp mushroom ketchup (optional, leave it out if you can’t find it/don’t have it)

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

1tsp tomato puree (or ketchup if you don’t keep puree in the house)

1 or 2 sprigs thyme

1 bayleaf

Salt and pepper to taste 

Firstly brown the sausages all over and then set aside. 

Melt the butter and olive oil together in a large pan.  Peel and cut the onions into thin half-moon slices and add to the oil and butter mixture, add the sugar and some ground black pepper and brown gently for 10 – 15 minutes.  As this is quite a simple recipe in terms of ingredients, you do want the onions to brown to get the best flavour into the dish. 

Add the flour and stir into the onions.  Gradually add the Guinness, stirring and scraping up any bits from around the pan.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, mushroom ketchup, beef stock and tomato puree/ketchup and stir.  Add a seasoning of salt and pepper, the herbs and the sausages and bring to a gentle simmer. 

Cover the pan and pop in a low oven (150^oC/275^o F/gas mark 1) for 3 ½ hours.  You want to have a nice gravy with this so if it seems to dry out at all just add a little more boiling water (half a cup or so). 

To make the Yorkshire Pudding I used : 

1 x 8” sandwich tin 

3oz plain flour

1 egg

3 fl oz milk

2 fl oz water

Salt and pepper to taste 

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and season, make a well in the centre and add the egg, milk and water.  Beat well so that there are no lumps whatsoever in the mixture.  Traditionally it’s made the night before and left to sit, the longer you can leave the batter mixture the better. 

When you are ready, grease the sandwich tin well and heat in the oven (it needs to be very hot), pour the batter mixture into the tin and cook for 25 to 30 minutes at 220^oC (425^oF/gas mark 7). 

I made the Yorkshire first and just re-heated in the microwave when we were ready to eat. We had one between us as we had potatoes as well.

This was a very substantial meal, so don’t plan on doing anything more than resting your stomach afterwards!

Sausages braised in red wine with Colcannon mash

Bangers and mash is a really classic British dish, and as a treat for my hubby, and to make it a bit special since it’s Saturday I decided to braise them in red wine.   

Colcannon mash is a traditional Irish potato dish, very simple when you know how, but so delicious that I knew I’d want to share the recipe with my friends across the pond! 

For two people you need : 

6 good meaty sausages (Cumberland are my favourite)

2 rashers of bacon

6 or 8 small shallots

6 or 8 small mushrooms

1 clove of garlic

½ tb flour

1tb olive oil

½ bottle of red wine

2 bayleaves

1 sprig of thyme

Salt and pepper to taste 

For the Colcannon : 

2 big potatoes

1small leek

½ a cabbage (I like savoy cabbage or spring greens best)

2tsp butter 

Firstly brown the sausages all over and set aside. 

Dice the bacon and brown in a little olive oil and then set aside with the sausages. 

Toss the shallots around in the olive oil and sauté until they are golden, adding the chopped garlic for the last few minutes.  (It isn’t necessary to use shallots, I just had some here that I wanted to use up.  You can peel and slice or dice a large onion instead.) 

Return the bacon to the shallots in the pan and add the flour, stirring to scrape up any sticky bits on the bottom of the pan.  Gradually add the red wine, stirring well to eliminate any lumps. 

Add the sausages, mushrooms and herbs to the pan and season to taste.  Pop a lid on the pan and cook in a medium oven (150^oC) for two and a half hours.  Check on it from time to time, you want to have a nice gravy with the sausages so if it starts to look at all dry add a little beef stock (or boiling water to which you have added a little Worcestershire sauce) to thin it out a little. 

For the potatoes, peel and cut into smallish chunks and boil.  Shred the cabbage and steam over the potatoes until cooked through.   

Cut the leek in half lengthways and rinse well, then shred and sauté in 1tsp butter, adding the cabbage once it has been steamed. 

When the potatoes are cooked, mash them with the other tsp of butter, then add the cabbage and leek mixture and mix well together with a wooden spoon.

Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta Bake

Frugal cooks plan ahead!  Buying out of season food like peppers, courgettes and tomatoes in January, when you only need half of each for a dish, is only really justifiable if you give them more than one outing.  As I’d bought them for the roasted vegetable medley I made yesterday I decided to make this lovely pasta bake to stretch them further.   

I added the second half of the sausage meatballs I made yesterday too, hubby doesn’t do vegetarian food! 

I was astounded at how far this stretched.  I had anticipated four serves, but I have in fact made enough for two small serves and four sensible portions! 

1 large or 2 medium onions

2 cloves of garlic

½ red pepper

½ green pepper

½ courgette

½ bulb of fennel

2 sticks of celery

1 carrot

2oz of thin green beans

Handful of black olives

1 large tin of tomatoes 

300g pasta 

Peel and dice the onion/s and carrot and sauté in 1tb of olive oil for 10 minutes.  While the onion is cooking dice the celery sticks and fennel and add to the pan, then de-seed and dice the peppers and courgette, and add those too, together with the crushed garlic.  Add the tin of tomatoes and season to taste.  Cut the green beans into short lengths and add those to the pan and then add the rinsed black olives. 

Cook for 20 minutes over a low heat so that all the flavours get a chance to cook together. 

Cook the pasta according to packet directions, I used a mix of regular and chilli penne – the chilli penne will add an interesting twist to the pasta bake. 

When the pasta is cooked drain and add to the sauce and mix well so that everything is evenly distributed. 

Spoon into your oven dishes and add a generous grating of parmesan cheese. 

I added the second half of the sausage meatballs from yesterday’s dish too.  If you want to make those the link for yesterday’s recipe is here: 

http://thehappyhousewife12.blogspot.com/2012/01/mediterranean-roast-vegetables-pasta.html 

Pop into the oven and cook for 20 - 25 minutes at 200^oC (until the cheese is melted and golden). 

From cold it will need 30 – 35 minutes in one of these enamel dishes, slightly longer if you are using an earthenware dish.

Mediterranean Roast Vegetables, Pasta and Sausage Meatballs

This recipe was inspired by various holidays I've had over the years in the Mediterranean.  Vegetarian dishes are making an appearance more and more often these days! 

Hubby is a big meat fan so I made some sausage meatballs for him, and cooked them at the same time as the vegetables in the oven.  To make these simply skin some sausages and roll into balls with your hands.  Lay on a greased baking sheet and pop them into the oven to cook.  It's worth bulk cooking these as they freeze and reheat well.

For the roast vegetables, I just went with a selection of Mediterranean veg that took my fancy.  You can vary them to your own particular tastes but what I used for two of us was : 

½  green pepper, de-seeded and cut into medium sized dice

½  red pepper, de-seeded and cut into medium sized dice

½  courgette, cut into quarters, the seeds cut out and discarded and the remainder diced

2 medium tomatoes, chopped roughly

2 or 3 cloves of garlic cut in half

1 large onion, peeled and quartered

1 stick of celery, diced

½ fennel bulb, diced

Handful of black olives, rinsed 

1tb olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste 

Simply prepare all the vegetables and pop into a shallow oven proof dish as you go along.  Add the olive oil and seasoning and mix together. 

Pop into the oven and cook at a fairly high heat (I cooked at 200^oC) for 35 minutes. 

Cook the pasta according to packet directions.  I used Farfalle because I wanted big sized pasta shapes with this dish but just use whatever you have, it makes no real difference! 

Drain the pasta and tip into a serving bowl, add the roast veg, scraping up any sticky bits from the dish, and then add the sausage meatballs.  Finish with some freshly torn basil leaves and a grating of parmesan cheese.

Sausage and bacon stuffing roll

This recipe was a new one that had its first Christmas outing last year.  My friend Julia gave me the idea for it, and I twiddled the recipe to our particular tastes.

It couldn’t be simpler to make or assemble!!

The recipe I used is as follows:

½ loaf of bread

1 medium onion

1 medium bunch of fresh sage

6 sausages, skinned

Salt and pepper

10 rashers of bacon

Firstly, cut the bread into chunks and place in the bowl of a food processor.

Peel and cut the onion into large chunks and add to the bread in the food processor

Wash and add the sage to the onion and breadcrumbs and process until everything is chopped fairly finely.

Turn into a mixing bowl and skin and add the sausages to the bowl.  Mix together with your hands until everything is combined.

Lay a sheet of foil on your worktop and layer the bacon across it.  I used back bacon as I don’t like fatty bacon, but you could use streaky if you wish.  I layered it thick/thin alternating.

Add spoonfuls of the sausagemeat mixture to the bacon and spread out with your fingertips fairly evenly.

Begin rolling up from one end as you would a swiss roll.

Pop into a greased baking tray (it will need to be deep as the sausage and bacon will let off some fat) and bake for around 45 minutes in a medium oven.

This is such a simple and convenient accompaniment to the Christmas meat, it can be sliced onto the plate and in the days following Christmas either sliced to go into rolls with some leftover turkey, or on its own.  It’s also delicious cut into thick slices with bubble and squeak!