Mince some meat, mix it with herbs, spices and salt, then stuff it into a casing – a technique that’s managed to find its way into cuisines the world over. Pay homage to the splendid sausage by cooking up these dishes from Germany, Poland, China, North Africa and, of course, the UK
RECIPES TOM SHINGLER PHOTOGRAPHS SEAN CALITZ FOOD STYLING ALICE OSTAN STYLING SARAH BIRKS
Cumberland sausages with our best-ever onion gravy
Serves 4 Hands-on time 40 min Simmering time 1 hour 25 min
“Onions are integral to most of our favourite savoury dishes, but something special happens when they find themselves sitting alongside rich, salty pork. Here they’re braised and simmered until soft, smoky and rich, imparting their flavour into an absolute knockout gravy”
MAKE AHEAD
You can make the onion gravy up to 3 days ahead – just keep it covered in the fridge (or freeze in a freezer bag, then defrost). Reheat gently.
BE A BETTER COOK
Reducing stock to a thick gravy or sauce takes time – but it’s so much more flavourful than using a thickener such as flour. Reducing the stock even further so it’s intense and almost syrupy creates what’s known as a demi-glace. This can be kept in the freezer like a frozen liquid stock cube, then diluted with water to the desired consistency.
• 8 cumberland sausages (make sure they’re gluten-free if you need them to be)
• Rapeseed oil for drizzling
• 2 small onions
• Mashed potatoes to serve (optional)
For the gravy
• 75g unsalted butter • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 3 large onions, finely sliced
• 1 large red onion, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ bunch thyme, leaves picked and a few sprigs reserved to garnish
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
• 500ml beef stock
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly or blackcurrant jam
1 To make the gravy, put a large pan over a medium heat, then add the butter and oil. Once the butter has melted, add all the sliced onions with a big pinch of salt. Stir until the onions are all coated in the fat and are gently sizzling, then add 1 tbsp water, cover and turn the heat down to low. Cook gently for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.
2 Remove the lid, add the sugar and vinegar, then turn up the heat slightly and cook for 20 minutes more, stirring more often. The onions catching on the bottom a little is fine, but you don’t want to burn them – add a splash of water if you need to.
3 Add the thyme leaves, bay leaves and pink peppercorns, stir briefly to combine, then pour in the beef and chicken stock. Make sure you scrape up any bits stuck to the
