SAUSAGES AND EGGS RECIPES

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat until foaming, then fry the leeks with a pinch of salt for 5-10 mins until soft. Leave to cool slightly.
• Put 200g soft breadcrumbs, the thyme, egg yolks, cheese, mustard and a generous grinding of pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Stir in the fried leeks, and any butter left in the pan. Season with salt and mix well using your hands.
• Mould the mixture into 12 sausages (divide and weigh for accuracy if you like). You may find damp hands help, cleaning your hands every so often to stop them sticking. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment and freeze for 10 mins until firm, or chill for 30 mins in the fridge.
• While the sausages are firming up, whisk the egg whites in a shallow bowl with a pinch of salt until lightly foamy. Put the flour and some of the remaining breadcrumbs onto separate plates.
• Dust the chilled and firm sausages in the flour, then dunk in the egg white, and roll in the breadcrumbs. Top up the plate of breadcrumbs as required. Chill for at least 1 hr and up to 24hrs before frying.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat. Fry the sausages in batches, turning them gently every minute, for 4-6 mins, until golden and crisp all over. Add a little more oil between batches if you need to. Transfer to a baking tray, and bake for 10 mins. If you are freezing the sausages, once they're golden brown transfer to a tray and leave to cool for a few minutes, then open-freeze (uncovered) until solid and transfer to freezer-proof containers. Will keep frozen for up to three months. Cook from frozen in the oven for 25 mins until piping hot.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook gently for about 20 minutes until soft and golden brown. Add the sage leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more and then spread out on a plate to cool.
  2. With a sharp knife, slit the skins of the sausages and pop the meat out. Put it in a mixing bowl with the cooled sage and onion mix and the breadcrumbs. Add a good grating of nutmeg, then scrunch well with your clean hands to mix together.
  3. On a floured work surface, roll the pastry out into a big rectangle as thick as a pound coin and cut it lengthways into two long, even rectangles. Roll the mixture into sausage shapes with your hands and lay along the centre of each rectangle.
  4. Mix the egg and milk and brush the pastry with the mixture, then fold one side of the pastry over, wrapping the filling inside. Press down with your fingers or the edge of a spoon to seal the join.
  5. Cut the long rolls into the sizes you want and space them out on a baking tray. Brush with the rest of the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through. Serve with piccalilli and a cress salad.
  6. Tip: Lamb or beef sausages work just as well in this recipe if you don’t fancy pork.