SAUSAGE MEATBALLS AND CANNELLINI BEAN STEW
LOWER YOUR FOOD BILLS AND STILL EAT WELL WITH FOOD EDITOR ELEANOR MAIDMENT Turning your bangers into meatballs makes them go further
I was watching a children’s cookery show with my daughter recently and a slot came up on how ground ginger is traditionally made. It’s a simple process of harvesting, peeling, washing and slicing it fresh, then leaving it to dry out in the sun before grinding. It made perfect sense, but I’d never thought about it before. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve considered where half the items in my spice drawer come from.
Take allspice, which I am always championing as the most underrated of the spices. It’s a berry, picked when green and
Paprika can be muted and mild, rich and smoky or spicy and pungent
unripe then dried and ground to deliver warming peppery notes to both sweet (carrot cake) and savoury foods (lamb stew).
Then there’s paprika, which is probably my most used spice. It is made from dried and ground red peppers and brings a warm scarlet glow to dishes. In terms of flavour, paprika can vary from muted and mild to rich and smoky, or spicy and pungent, though it is never as hot as a chilli powder. The best varieties come from Hungary, where it is eaten with everything (try a sprinkle with salt over your fried eggs) and Spain, where the peppers are often smoked during the drying process to give them a distinctive flavour. In this week’s recipe, a simple sausage, bean and tomato stew, I like to use a chorizo-style pork sausage, which goes well with smoked paprika.
METHOD
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan or shallow casserole over a medium-high heat. Squeeze the sausage meat from the skins and roll into meatballs. You should get about 3 per sausage.
Fry the meatballs for
6-8 minutes, turning regularly, until golden all over. Remove from the pan and set aside. If there is an excess of oil in the pan, scoop it out and discard, leaving about 1 tbsp.
Chop 1 large onion and add to the frying pan with a pinch of salt, cooking for 6-7 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add 1 crushed garlic clove and the paprika and cook for a minute more.
Chop the plum tomatoes or break up with your hands and add to the pan with the juices. Also add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for a final 10-15 minutes, seasoning the sauce with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar if needed. Serve with crusty bread, pasta or rice.