Sausages braised in red wine

It has been a frustrating winter so far. Incessant rain which means that you can’t get outside to do anything and the garden is just a quagmire. In the mountains the rain has fallen as snow and there is just so much of it that they can’t cope and in the ski resorts there is a constant danger of avalanche. Which is frustrating for John who loves skiing (Derek retired not too gracefully a few years ago when he realized that he had arrived at the age when you don’t bounce so easily) but John has been unable to go because the resorts are either closed or with constant snow the visibility and avalanche risk make it unwise. Yesterday was different – the weather wasn’t perfect but good enough so off he went with friends for the day and got to try out the new skis he had bought. One happy bunny returned in the evening!

Left in charge of supper Derek pondered what to do. When skiing John eats a carbohydrate lunch so the first thought is to avoid those in the evening. Without too much ado the decision was made to cook sausages braised in red wine. This is a dish he has cooked for many years and is loved by his children and friends alike. Though the dish is simple its success rests on the quality of the ingredients so do buy the best quality sausages you can – a Toulouse type works best and not too salty. Use a decent red wine – no need to go for fine wine but something of reasonable quality – the sort that you would quaff on its own and enjoy.

The recipe uses button onions but as they are not always available (and anyway are such a faff to prepare) we tend to use a large onion cut into halves and then thickly sliced into semi rings – go with whatever suits.

serves 4

• 500g pork sausages
• 225g lardons or lean bacon cut into cubes
• 225 button onions or a large onion
• olive oil
• 1 heaped tsp flour
• 275 ml red wine
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 175g mushrooms, halved if large

In a large casserole heat a little oil and brown the sausages all over then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the lardons or bacon to the pan and cook for a few minutes then add the onions and continue until the onions are nicely browned too. Add the flour and stir around to soak up any remaining oil then gradually add the red wine stirring to make a sauce. Bring to a simmer, return the sausages to the pan together with the garlic, bay leave and thyme. Put the lid on and simmer very gently for around 30 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 20 minutes without the lid by which time everything should be ready and the sauce nicely reduced. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

To accompany it would normally be a big pile of creamy mashed potato but since we were avoiding the carbs we had bright, fresh savoy cabbage.

recipe by Delia Smith

TIP:

When you cook cabbage, any sort, shred into ribbons and cook in lots of boiling water until just tender – don’t overcook it. Drain it in a large colander, take a small saucer, place on top and press down to remove any excess water. Then, use the edge of the saucer to chop the cabbage into fine pieces.

Dee-Lish Goulash

John’s old head chef Rob taught him a thing or two and one recipe that has stuck is his beef goulash.  We had some inexpensive braising steak and decided to do some kind of casserole last Sunday.  In the end we remembered how good this recipe was and that we haven’t posted it yet.  Please try it, you will go back to it again and again. All you need for 4 is…

• 800g nicely marbled braising steak, chopped into chunks
• 150g lardons
• 200g frozen, skinned baby onions
• chunky diced carrot, mushrooms and celery (optional)
• 3 minced cloves of garlic
• 1/2 bottle of good red wine
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 400ml chicken or beef stock
• 3 bay leaves
• handful of chopped parsley
• 4 tbsp of creme fraiche
• 1 teaspoon of each; mild, smoked and hot paprika (we used a mixture of 3 sorts)
• handful of chopped, rinsed gherkins

Set your oven to 140C.

In a large cast iron casserole brown the beef  and remove.  Next add the lardons and vegetables with the bay leaves and fry gently for about 2 minutes.  Now turn up the heat, adding the garlic, tomato puree and some paprika as well as the browned beef.  Give it a good stir then pour in the wine.  Let it get to simmering and add the hot stock.  It should nicely cover your meat and veg.  Pop the casserole into the oven with the lid slightly off, this will help it reduce as it cooks.  You’ll want to stir and check it once an hour for about 3 hrs.  When the meat is sufficiently tender and the sauce reduced, put it back on the hob and add the creme fraiche, a bit more paprika, the gherkins and parsley.  Don’t forget to check the seasoning.  We had it with buttered tagliatelle (pasta, what a surprise) and felt like we died and went to heaven…soo deeply flavourful.  Two days later our Tuesday lunch featured the leftovers and we sautéed some sliced bell peppers and added it to the goulash to bulk it out and we ate it with big hunks of crusty bread.  It was even more delicious than the first time.

Tuesday Night Football Special–Spaghetti and Meatballs

John is a big fan of american football but has to wait till tuesday to see the monday night game.  We invited friends over and had some fun food before the game.  The meatballs and sauce can easily be made the day before and here’s how we did it (for four)…

For the meatballs;

• 500g minced beef (you can use half and half beef and pork or beef and veal)
• 2tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 1 small finely chopped onion
• 1 egg
• half a cup of grated parmesan
• half a cup of panko (breadcrums)
• a few shakes of worcester sauce

Season it  and mix it all together with your hands.  You can make the meatballs as big or small as you like.  We did golfball-ish sized.  Pop them on a tray and into the fridge to firm up for about half an hour.

Now to make the sauce; heat some oil in a big saucepan and carefully brown the meatballs, then remove them to a plate.  We also did some sausage pieces because they are so tasty cooked in tomato sauce. In the remaining oil fry one chopped onion and 2 sliced peppers with a couple of bay leaves.  When they are a bit browned add a mixture of several leaves of sage, some stripped thyme leaves and rosemary with a minced clove of garlic all chopped together.  With those aromatics filling the kitchen with their lovely scents, add about half a bottle of good red wine (we used a merlot) and let that bubble and reduce slightly then add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes.  Give it a good seasoning and carefully pop all the meat back into the sauce. Put on the lid so it is mostly covering the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer.  Stir gently from time to time and after about an hour it should be to die for.

If you go to the trouble of making meatballs you should make some garlic bread too. You know it’s the right thing to do.  Just soften about 80g of butter and add a minced clove of garlic, a sprinkle of oregano and a tablespoon of chopped parsley. Once mixed, spread it on both sides of a sliced up baguette and roll it into some foil paper and bake at 190C for 12-15min.  The only disappointment of the evening was that the Dallas Cowboys got trounced…but it is easier to take on a full stomach.

A lamb steak with a red wine jus

We met with a group of friends last night for an apero so another quick supper was needed when we got in. We had the other half of the chard gratin to eat so we decided on a simple lamb steak to go with it. The lamb we pan-fried in a little olive oil with a sprig of rosemary until nicely cooked but still pink inside. Remove to a warm oven and empty any oil from the pan. Deglaze the pan with some red wine and add a tablespoon or two of redcurrant jelly. Let it reduce a little and taste and adjust the seasoning, nap over your lamb steak. It’s very simple but really delicious and the gratin went down a treat with it. The colour looks rather black in the photo but in fact it was a deep wine red.