Venison sausages braised in red wine

This is the latest dish we've made using the sausages from Alternative Meats. It was based loosely on a Delia recipe and it was really, really good!

Ingredients:
Pack of venison sausages
1 sml pack of diced pancetta/lardons
1 large glass of red wine
150ml beef stock
1 tbl sp redcurrant jelly
Fresh thyme leaves
Bay leaf
1 handful of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
6 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
Black pepper
Olive oil

• Heat a splash of olive oil in a deep, non-stick pan. Brown the sausages in the oil and then remove them from the pan and set aside.
• Fry the shallots, garlic, celery and pancetta until browned. Return the sausages to the pan.
• Add the stock, wine and herbs. Turn the heat down to a low simmer, cover with a lid and leave to cook for about an hour.
• After an hour, add the redcurrant jelly and some black pepper. Remove the lid and allow it to simmer for a further 30 minutes.
• We served ours with mashed potato and braised red cabbage.

Creole smoky sausage pasta

We recently bought a selection of meat and sausages from the Alternative Meats company http://www.alternativemeats.co.uk/. This was the first thing we made. It was very easy and had loads of flavour.

Ingredients:

4 creole smoky sausages (skins removed)

1 red onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, diced

a handful of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 bag of spinach

5 tomatoes, diced

olive oil

salt and pepper

pasta, we used tagliatelli

• Mould the sausage meat into meatballs before browing them in a non-stick frying pan in a little olive oil
• Once browned remove the sausage meatballs from the frying pan and set aside
• Fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms in the same frying pan until soft, and then add the diced tomatoes and put the sausage meatballs back into the pan
• Cook the pasta according to packet instructions
• Leave the sausage meatballs to cook in the tomato sauce for 10 minutes or so, then add the spinach and season with salt and pepper
• Serve the meatballs and sauce over cooked pasta

Pot roast guinea fowl with brandy, sausages and apple

This was quite a nice way of cooking guinea fowl and was different from the usual way we roast it. We served this with roast potatoes, sprouts with shallots and pancetta, and poured over some of the onions and liquid from the pan the bird had been cooking in.

Ingredients (seves 2 with leftovers):

1 guinea fowl

1 white onion

2 sausages (we used chipolatas)

1/2 an apple

300ml chicken stock

a large glug of brandy

salt and pepper

olive oil

bay leaf

• Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees
• Remove the skin from the sausages and put the sausage meat in a bowl. Grate the apple into the sausage meat and season the mixture with a little salt and pepper
• Carefully insert your finger between the skin and the breast of the guinea fowl to make a pocket. Using a teaspoon transfer the sausage and apple mixture under the skin and push the mixture down to the bottom of the breast so that it is evenly distributed
• In a large, deep frying pan heat a little oil. Slice the onion and add the onion to the pan when it's hot. After a few minutes add the guinea fowl and brown slightly on each side, this should take about 5 minutes. Once this is done, add the brandy to the pan and let it bubble away for a few minutes
• Transfer the guinea fowl, onions and brandy juices to a deep oven proof dish. Add the bay leaf and pour over the stock
• Place in the pre heated oven for around 1 and a quarter hours (depending on size of bird - test the thickest part of the thigh to see if it's cooked). Take it out every 20 minutes or so to baste the bird using the brandy/stock juices
• You could make a proper gravy by reducing the juices further whilst the guinea fowl is resting but we just spooned some of the juices directly onto the carved meat

Sticky sausage burgers with blue cheese

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 pork sausages

2 spring onions, sliced

tea spoon of apple sauce

tea spoon of whole grain mustard

25g of blue cheese (we used Danish blue)

2 burger buns

1. squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins and place the sausage in a glass bowl
   
2. add the spring onions, apple sauce, mustard and cheese and mix well


3. mould the mixture into 2 burger shapes


4. heat some oil in a non stick pan until hot


5. cook the burgers on each side for approx 6 minutes
   

We served them in a toasted sesame seed bun with an extra slice of blue cheese. On the side we had new potatoes and green beans in a garlic, herb and caper mayonnaise.