Pimped Up Sausages + Foodie Vacay with me in 2023!
Free Recipe - These Braised Sausages, Tomatoes, Olives, Chickpeas & Spinach turn the humble sausage into something special. All in 30 minutes!
Hi Team, before we dive into this delicious FREE recipe, I’ve got some exciting news to share!
COME ON A FOODIE VACAY WITH ME! I’m looking at hosting food trips and experiences all around the world with small groups of food lovers just like you!! Think Italy, Spain, Morocco, France, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Bali … The world is our menu & it’s going to be so delicious!
Firstly though, I need to gauge peoples interest so I’ve got a quick 2 minute survey below that I’d love you to fill out and gives me an idea of the interest from my community and where you’d like to go most. That way we can curate the trips to be as amazing as possible for everyone! It also means I can get back in contact with you directly for first options to come on a vacay!
Share the love! If anyone who you know would love something like this, please share the survey by sharing this email and let them know! I’m really excited about this and hope to be sharing some great experiences with you around the world very soon!
Like most people in Australia, I grew up with sausages being a go-to item on the backyard BBQ. There could be salads but for most kids, it was wrapped in a slice of white bread with tomato sauce and perhaps some caramelised onions.. So good!
It is still a staple of kids birthday parties and surf club fundraisers, not to mention a Bunnings sausage sizzle (Australia’s biggest hardware chain). I serve it up to my kids on birthdays or camping trips as well!
But Sausages can be much more than that! We see a lot in other cultures and thankfully something embraced by a lot of new, craft sausage makers, creating a variety of delicious flavour combinations on the market. Sausages are the perfect vehicle to adding complementing and exciting flavours to and using different meats - pork, lamb, beef, chicken, game (duck, venison, pheasant, wild boar) and now some vegan varieties out there that can be a great option!
During my cooking career, I worked for 7 years in a beautiful, French Bistro - Bistro Moncur. It was my first head chef position as well at 25 yrs old. We made all our charcuterie from scratch and a pure pork sausage was always on the menu. We would also get fancy with other combinations from pheasant, wild boar, then into blood sausage, fish and shellfish versions called boudin blancs. I loved playing around with different sausage flavour, the right texture and seasonings were key! Meats were kept very cold, coarsely ground, and there needed to be a good fat ratio to keep the sausage from drying out. Salt was weight to the gram! there is nothing worse than an under seasoned sausage! … insert dad joke!
This delicious 30 minute, one-pot recipe brings new life to sausages, taking it past the BBQ or frying pan, into the world of a composed meal!
It’s all about fresh tomatoes bursting in the pan to create the sauce with chickpeas, olives & spinach. I would call this a healthy and balanced dish, something I strive for in my cooking but not at the detriment to deliciousness, so you can bet this dish is all about the flavour!
Serve it as is or with crusty bread, a veggie mash (potato, parsnip, cauliflower), rice or polenta. It’s a great dish for camping to - minimal ingredients & one-pan means you just need a little gas burner or campfire and your going to be loving life 30 minutes later!
Hot Tips
If you love something a little more creamy finish the dish with a splash, about 1/2 cup cream and reduce slightly. It’s Really good!
Another option to try is to turn this into a pasta dish by simply squeezing the sausage meat from the skin and cooking off to begin, breaking it up as you do, then continue with the onion, celery etc. Cook some pasta - a shorter variety is better, and add to the finished dish along with a splash of pasta water, and a few good splashed of extra virgin olive oil. I highly recommend you try this Alternatively, cut the sausages after cooking and adding them back to the dish with the pasta. This is a great way to make the dish go further or use up leftovers!
Sausages - I love a pork & fennel sausage for this dish, but any variety would work, simple or gourmet. Beef, lamb, chicken or even some veggie versions if thats your jam! Just try and buy a good quality one, it makes all the difference in flavour and texture.
If Sausage Aren’t Your Thing, you can use boneless chicken thigh or breast (cut into 3 or 4 pieces) - which will cook in the short time of the recipe or if you want to use bone in thigh or drumsticks, I suggest getting them going by roasting them first then adding back to the recipe.
Seafood is another amazing option here. A firm white fish or salmon or ocean trout fillet is so good cooked with these flavours as is squid, sliced into thick pieces, mussels or prawns. Or if you really want to shine, a seafood combination of all of these. EPIC! Give it a Spanish vibe with some chorizo too!
Fresh or Canned Tomatoes? - Fresh tomatoes is what really lifts this dish up, however, if you want to save some money or have canned tomatoes they will also make a delicious dish. I would suggest a canned cherry tomato, baby roma or chopped tomato.
Chickpeas - any cooked pulse can be used here. I particularly love butterbeans in this dish and lentils, borlotti or kidney beans all work well.
Fresh or Frozen Spinach - if you can’t get fresh, use frozen for sure. I always have frozen spinach on hand for pies, broths, curries and to add some extra veg to a bolognese or lasagne.
Olives - Feel free to leave these out if you’re not an olive fan or swap for green olives. Capers also make a great substitute if you still want that briny, savoury kick.
Braised Sausages, Tomatoes, Olives, Chickpeas & Spinach
Cook time - 30 minutes
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
4-6 pork and fennel sausages
1 brown onion, diced
½ cup celery or fennel, diced
5 clove garlic, smashed
Salt, fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch dried chili flakes
2 punnet cherry or grape tomatoes, mixed colours
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed, drained
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
large handful flat parsley, roughly chopped
To serve, crusty bread, a veggie mash (potato, parsnip, cauliflower), rice or polenta
See notes on creating a pasta dish with this, above in notes section.
Method
Heat frying pan over a high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and cook the sausages for approx. 4 minutes, turning throughout cooking to colour evenly then set aside on a plate.
Heat a large frying pan over a medium/high heat then add 3 tbsp olive oil, the onion, celery, garlic, a little salt and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chili flakes and the tomatoes and cook, stirring often until the tomatoes begin to burst and break down, about 5 minutes
Add the chickpeas, olives and stock to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste then add the spinach to the pan and stir through to just wilt before nestling in the sausages so the side into the braise.
Cover the pan and simmer for approx. 4 minutes before serving with any of the suggested accompaniments. This dish makes for delicious leftovers the next few days.
Sunday morning and I am scrolling through your backlog of recipes and came across this one. Possibly the best way to eat sausages. I did something similar the other night with our glut of cherry tomatoes, wedged an onion, added several cloves of garlic, fresh basil and thickly sliced potatoes, topped that off with the sausages. It was very tasty, but I think yours will be better as there is a lot more “juice”, I can see it on a bed of creamy mash or pasta with plenty of bread to help soak up the deliciousness.