Sausage Hotpot With Sweet Potato Mash...

It has been cold, dark and drizzly here in the UK (no surprises there really!). This type of weather always makes me crave good old fashioned comfort food. Mashed potatoes had been on my mind for sometime and there was a pack of sausages in the fridge. Bangers and Mash – classic comfort food! Somehow though, it just didn’t seem right. I was in the mood for something a little bit different.

Not being sure what to make I decided to visit one of my favourite recipe websites. The BBC GoodFood website is full of great recipes and ideas. It never fails to inspire my cooking and give me direction in the kitchen.

Their recipe for Frying-Pan Sausage Hot Pot is on my favourites list. It really is an easy recipe to make and it tastes delicious. I decided to use this recipe as a base for my own sausage hotpot which would help use up some of the vegetables beginning to languish in my fridge. It also gave me an excuse to make sweet potato mash which is always a treat.

This is a great recipe to play around with so get in the kitchen and have some fun!

Luna Raye’s Sausage Hotpot with Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients

• Drizzle of Olive Oil

• Drizzle of maple syrup OR a teaspoon of soft brown sugar to help caramelize the onions

• 2 small red onions thinly sliced

• 6 plump good-quality sausages (I used English pork and caramelized onion sausages) You can keep the sausages whole but I prefer to cut them into thirds.

• 1/3 of a glass of good red wine

• 175ml vegetable stock (My favourite is Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder)

• 4-6 broccoli spears chopped into halves

• 1 large carrot chopped

• 1 can of cannellini beans

For the sweet potato mash

(I like to use a mixture of sweet potatoes and white potatoes for this mash – I find it has a nicer texture)

• 4 small russet potatoes

• 3 large sweet potatoes

• 2 cloves of garlic minced

• Knob of butter (approx ½ Tablespoon)

• Freshly chopped parsley (about 4 Tablespoons)

• Season with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in the pan and add the sliced red onions. Add a pinch of salt and either a drizzle of maple syrup OR a teaspoon of soft brown sugar

2. Cook over a medium heat until the onions are nice and soft. Once soft remove them from the pan and set aside

3. Get your sweet potatoes and russet potatoes on the boil so they will be ready when the hotpot is under the grill

4. Place the pan back on the heat and start cooking the sausages. It’s up to you if you want to keep them whole or cut them into pieces. Just make sure they are thoroughly cooked. Usually 8 – 10 minutes is enough

5. Prepare your grill and turn it to medium / high

6. Add the following to the pan with the cooked sausages:

• red wine

• vegetable stock

• caramelized red onions

• chopped carrot

• broccoli

• drained and rinsed cannellini beans

7. Gently stir and allow the mixture to bubble away for about 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken

8. Remove from the hob and place under the grill

9. Check to make sure your potatoes are done. Drain and place back to the pot with a knob of butter and the minced garlic

10. Mash until smooth. Add salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper and the freshly chopped parsley. Stir everything in well to make sure the mash is seasoned throughout

11. Remove the frying pan from under the grill. The carrots and broccoli should be softened and not overdone

12. Spoon the sweet potato mash onto plates and serve up the bubbling hotpot!

Enjoy!

Father’s Day: Treat Your Father To A Special Mea...

Today is Father’s Day. It also happens to be my sister’s birthday (Happy Birthday Lisa!) and I thought it was the perfect day to try a recipe I saw on one of my favourite cooking shows, Saturday Morning Kitchen. It aired on June 5th and featured the wonderful chef Michel Roux, who prepared Pork Sausages with a Pineapple Salsa and Rocket Salad.

What struck me right away about this dish was serving sausages with something other then the usual potatoes, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. Instead the pineapple salsa and rocket salad are a light and zesty alternative, absolutely perfect for a warm summer evening.

This is a very simple and elegant meal to prepare. The most labour intensive part of the dish is the salsa and that was much easier to make then I expected. I have never had pineapple salsa before but it was incredible. The pineapple combined with the fresh chilli, chill sauce and lime juice (and a bit of brown sugar) was sweet and tangy with a lovely bit of heat that came through wonderfully. It wasn’t overpowering at all. This is something I plan on making again and I think it would also go nicely alongside tuna or swordfish steaks.

The only adjustments I had to make to the recipe were with the herbs and the sambal oelek (Indonesian chilli sauce). Our coriander isn’t doing very well and I used the last few sad looking leaves which didn’t even come close to making up the 2 tablespoons needed for the salsa. So I used a combination of coriander, apple mint and a wee bit of lemon thyme. I also didn’t have the Indonesian chilli sauce but fortunately there was some Tiger chilli sauce lurking in the back of the fridge which I used instead. I’m not sure how much of a difference this made to the dish, but the salsa tasted pretty good in spite of these changes.

It was a fun and satisfying meal to make and what was so great was the way chef Michel Roux made it seem so effortless. It really showed me that you can create simple, wonderful meals that taste like they come from a 5 star restaurant, in your own home. Sadly my parents and sister live many thousands of miles away, so we weren’t able to share this special meal together. I do plan on making it for them when we meet up later this summer. So you guys have fair warning – get some white wine chilling in the fridge! On the show they suggested a Riesling which happens to be one of my favourite white wines.

For dessert we used up the left over pineapple and apple mint to make a fruit salad. We added some blueberries, strawberries and a chopped up banana along with a tiny squeeze of fresh lemon juice. We served it with a generous dollop of vanilla yoghurt. It was a lovely way to finish the meal.

Here is chef Michel’s recipe again. Try it for yourself and why not share it with your loved ones, especially with dad (and any sisters who may be celebrating their birthdays).

Caramelizing the Pineapple For The Salsa

Pork Sausages with Pineapple Salsa and Rocket Salad.

Fruit Salad with fresh apple mint and a dollop of vanilla yoghurt.