Homemade Pork Sausage With Colcannon and Apples

Colcannon, which marries mashed potatoes with sauteed cabbage, is a classic Irish dish. It goes perfectly with homemade sausages and applesauce. The sausage links are fairly mild, so feel free to add a little dried sage, brown sugar or a pinch of red pepper flakes to the mix. I also allowed the colcannon to brown a little longer in the pan, creating a crispy crust. Recipe from Rachel Allen via BBC Food.

Makes 4 servings.

For sausages

1 pound fatty minced pork 2 ounces breadcrumbs 1 free-range egg, beaten 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 tablespoon chopped fresh

parsley or marjoram 3 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil

Salt and freshly ground

black pepper

For colcannon

3 pounds floury potatoes,

such as Russet, scrubbed

3 1⁄2 ounces butter, divided 1 pound green cabbage, outer leaves removed and discarded, inner leaves sliced

9 ounces hot milk 2 tablespoons chopped

fresh parsley

For apple sauce

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon water

2 ounces sugar

Make sausages: Place all ingredients except olive oil in a bowl and mix thoroughly, then season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. (Fry a tiny bit of the mixture in a hot pan with a little olive or sunflower oil to check the seasoning. Add more if required.)

Divide mixture into 12 pieces and shape each one into a sausage. Place on a baking tray or plate and set aside. (Chilling them for a day in the fridge is fine, or you can freeze them.)

To cook sausages, heat frying pan on a low to medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive or sunflower oil and gently fry for 12 to 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides and completely cooked through.

Prepare colcannon: Cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain off three-quarters of the water and continue to cook over low heat until tender. Drain remaining water. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and mash with half of the butter.

Heat pan until hot and add remaining butter, 2 tablespoons of water and sliced cabbage. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until just cooked through.

Add cabbage mixture to potatoes, then add most of the hot milk and parsley, keeping some of the milk back. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Beat until creamy and smooth, adding more milk, if necessary, to achieve preferred consistency.

For apple sauce: Place apple in a small pan with water. Cover with lid and cook over gentle heat, stirring occasionally, until apple has broken down to pulp. Add sugar to taste.

To serve, place a spoonful of colcannon onto each plate with a dab of butter on top. Add three sausages to each plate and a spoonful of warm apple sauce alongside.