Welcome back to another newsletter, or to new subscribers, welcome! Autumn feels as though it has rolled around incredibly fast, and to be honest, I’m here for it. Time to crack the heating on, light those candles, and tuck into all the really hearty, warming stuff that has been off the cards for a few months.
The recipes this month are both sausage based, because when I’m reaching for comfort, this is normally the first ingredient I’m seeking out. I love a sausage sandwich; a sausage casserole; sausages with mash and baked beans. I love them in all their forms! These two recipes use them in speedy ways to make pretty darn tasty mid-week dinners. I hope you like them.
Zozzona chickpeas
You may have heard of the four Roman pastas - carbonara, alla gricia, amatriciana, and cacio e pepe, but there is a sneaky fifth one. It’s name is zozzona, and it is a wild mash up of most of the others. It’s got the guanciale from carbonara, all gricia and amatriciana. It’s borrowed the tomato from amatriciana too, and as well as the pecorino/egg thickener from carbonara. Hell, it’s even got sausages in there.
Whilst I love it in its indulgent pasta form, I’ve shaken things up a bit and used it as the sauce for big fat chickpeas. My love affair with chickpeas will be no secret to any of you long time followers of my work, and I really recommend splashing out on one of the posh jars for this - Bold Bean Co tend to be my go-to, and they’ve just started stocking them in Sainsburys! So it’s now got even easier to get your mitts on them.
You could eat this as is for a speedy dinner, or if you were feeling extra, you could serve it with mash and greens.
Serves 4
100g guanciale or pancetta
4 sausages
1 onion
½ tsp chilli flakes
500ml passata
60g pecorino, plus more to serve
2 egg yolks
1 posh jar of chickpeas
salt, pepper and olive oil
Cut your guanciale or pancetta into little lardons.
Heat a large shallow casserole dish over a medium-low heat, and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Tip in your guanciale or pancetta whilst it is still warming up, and let it gently come up to temperature. The fat will render out slowly, and get the flesh will get nice and crispy. Once this has happened, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside in a bowl.
Squeeze your sausage meat into the same pan, and break it down into chunks with the edge of your spoon. Fry it for about 5 minutes over a medium heat, until it is crispy, then remove it from the pan and pop it with your guanciale/pancetta in a bowl.
Peel and finely chop your onion, then add this to the pork fat in the pan. Cook it for about 15 minutes over a medium heat, until it is super soft. You may need to add a splash of water to deglaze the pan, and get some steam going to cook the onions.
Add your chilli flakes, passata, and all the porky bits from the bowl back into the pan. Simmer it for 15 minutes.
Grate your pecorino into a bowl, and add your egg yolks. Add about 20 twists of black pepper, then give it a good mix to form a paste.
Drain your chickpeas in a colander, and give them a rinse.
Add your chickpeas to the pan along with 200ml water, and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes more to heat up those chickpeas.
Switch your pan off the heat, and add your egg yolk/cheese mixture. Give it a really good mix.
Adjust the seasoning of the sauce, then sprinkle the surface with pecorino, a little olive oil and more chilli flakes. Serve it up.
Curried sausage noodle soup
Noodle soups are a staple for me in the week, and there aren’t many tastier proteins to sprinkle over the top than crispy sausage bits glazed in soy sauce. It’s a very speedy meal to make, with the only real effort being making the curry paste. To be honest, the bashing of ingredients in a pestle and mortar you may find to be really quite therapeutic at the end of the long day (you could imagine the lemongrass is your boss! Or your annoying boyfriend!), though you could also make the paste up to two days in advance and keep it in the fridge for ease.
Serves 2
4 cloves of garlic
2cm knob of ginger
1 banana shallot
2 sticks of lemongrass
1 tbsp mild curry powder
2 tbsp crispy chilli oil, bits and oil - (I like Lao Gan Ma, White Mausu or Mama Yu for this)
4 sausages
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 eggs
400ml coconut milk
300ml chicken stock
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soft brown sugar
160g dried udon noodles
100g spinach
a handful of coriander leaves
salt and vegetable oil
Peel your garlic, ginger and shallot, then roughly chop your ginger and garlic. Finely slice your shallot, setting aside a little handful for later. Chop off the end of your lemongrass, then bash it with the base of a heavy pan to flatten it. Remove the woody outer layers, then roughly chop the soft bits.
You can make the paste in either a pestle and mortar or a small food processor. If using a pestle and mortar, add the garlic, ginger, shallots, lemongrass, crispy chilli oil and curry powder individually, bashing each to a fine paste before adding the next part. If you want to use a food processor, add it all in at the same time, and whizz to a paste. You may need to stop and scrape down the edges a few times.
Cook your noodles according to packet instructions, then rinse them with cold water and leave them to sit in a colander whilst you prep the rest.
Heat a large wok over a high heat. Squeeze the meat out of your sausages straight into the pan, and stir fry for 5 minutes, breaking the meat down with the edge of your spoon, so that it gets crispy and golden. Add your soy sauce to glaze them, then remove your sausage chunks from the pan and set aside until later.
Bring a small pan of boiling water up to a boil, then add your eggs. Cook them for 7 minutes, then pop them in a bowl of icy water to stop them cooking any more.
To the same pan you cooked your sausage meat in, add about 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, and turn the heat down to low. Add your curry paste, and cook this out for about 5 minutes.
Tip your coconut milk and chicken stock into the pan, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add your sugar and fish sauce to the broth, then season it to taste with salt. Drop in your spinach, and cook for a minute until it has wilted.
Divide your noodles between two bowls, then pour over your broth. Sprinkle on your sausage, then peel and halve your eggs, and pop them each each bowl too. Top with some fresh coriander leaves and shallots, then serve it up.
Lasagne Party Supper Club
I’m sooo excited to be cooking up another big fat feast for you on the 22nd November at Peckham Arches. This one is going to be a proper wintery feast:
Nibbles
Pumpkin and smoked cheese beignets
Roasted cauliflower with chickpeas, burnt shallots and cornichon salsa
Marinaded broccoli, anchovy and ricotta toasts
Mains
Sausage, porcini + taleggio lasagne, with garlic butter focaccia and radicchio salad
Pud
Baked cream with toffee apple and oat crumble
There will be veggie options available, and the entire menu is nut free, but unfortunately I won’t be able to cater to any other dietary requirements.
If you’d like to come down, here is the ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sophie-wyburds-lasagne-party-tickets-746939294537?aff=oddtdtcreator