Sunday 13 January 2013

Sausage crumble

With some "proper" winter now under way, it's definitely time for some comfort food so I made a rather tasty savoury crumble.

This is a dish that can be quite divisive, I've had people flat-out refuse a sausage crumble before. I think that it does work, but it's much harder to get it right than a traditional fruit crumble. The proportions of crumble to filling is completely different and the flavours have to be BIG!

(Yeah I know it's not a very sexy picture, but just how do you make a crumble look good?)

The crumble was like getting an umami hug, perfect when it's snowing outside. The sausage and mushrooms were supported by the rich flavour of caramelised onions, occasionally punctuated by a burst of fruitiness from chunk of apple. Sage leaves gave an underlying fresh herby dimension. The cheese and mushroom crumble itself gave a lovely crunch and the same kind of comforting feeling as a plate of mash. Give it a go.

Sausage crumble

Ingredients:
1lb best pork sausages
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1 red eating apple, cored and cubed (~1cm)
8oz button mushrooms
2tbsp sage, chopped
150ml dry cider
2tbsp parsley, chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
For the crumble:
4oz plain flour
3oz butter, cubed
2oz cheddar cheese, grated
1dsp English mustard powder
A big handful of parley, chopped

Method:
1. Firstly get the onions going. Add a dash of oil to a frying pan and pop it on the lowest heat. Add the onions, thyme leaves and a pinch of salt. Leave until they achieve beautiful soft caramelised perfection. Low and slow is the name of the game here, it could take about 45min. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing catches.
2. In a large pan brown the sausages all over and leave to drain. Once cool cut each sausage on the angle into four pieces.
3. In the same pan quickly fry the mushrooms, just to get a little colour on them.
4. Deglaze the plan with cider, add the sausages, apples, onions, parsley and sage to the pan and allow to reduce, slightly. Season to taste.
5. Spoon the sausage mix into an oven-proof dish.
6. To make the crumble topping, rub the butter and flour together until they resemble breadcrumbs. Mix in the mustard powder, cheese and parsley. Season.
7. Distribute the crumble topping evenly over the sausage mix.
8. Bake at 190°C for about 30mins. The top should be golden and the savoury sausagey goodness should just starting to bubble up around the sides.

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