British sausage week 2016: Three pork recipes that go with a bang

Now in its 19th year, British Sausage Week runs from 31 October to 6 November and it is a perfect time for sharing at parties for Bonfire Night. Here are three recipes that go with a bang.

2tbsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 sticks celery, sliced
2 bay leaves
1tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 pack debbie&andrew's Perfect Cumberland Pork Sausages
500ml chicken stock
150g puy lentils
200g dried apricots
Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 140°C/275°F/Gas Mark 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large casserole over a medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves and thyme and sweat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a large frying pan, heat the second tablespoon of oil and then brown the sausages all over for 10 minutes or so. Add the browned sausages to the casserole.

Pour a little stock in to the frying pan and heat for a few minutes to soak up all the meat juices, then add this liquid to the casserole. Now add the lentils, apricots and the rest of the stock. Make sure the liquid covers the ingredients. If not, just add a little water until it does. Cook uncovered in the preheated oven for 1 and ½ hours, stirring once or twice in that time. Remove the bay leaves, season to taste and serve with a simple green salad and chunks of fresh gluten-free bread.

Recipe by Debbie & Andrews who will be exhibiting and offering tasters at BBC Good Food Show Winter on 24-27 November at Birmingham NEC

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Wild boar used to be common in this country, but they were hunted so much that they were wiped out. Now the meat is popular again and British farmers are raising boar. They’re woodland creatures so we’ve used ingredients such as juniper berries and herbs that they might snuffle up in the woods to flavour this rich meat sauce. The secret to success with this sauce is to cook it long and slow, until the meat is falling apart.

Serves 6

700g boneless wild boar shoulder 
4-5tbsp vegetable oil 
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon or pancetta, cut into 1cm slices 
1 large onion, finely chopped 
4 garlic cloves, crushed 
75g pitted black olives, rinsed and drained 
2tsp juniper berries, lightly crushed in a pestle and mortar 
500ml red wine 
400g can chopped tomatoes 
2tbsp tomato purée 
500ml beef stock 
2 large bay leaves 
3 bushy sprigs of thyme 
1 rosemary stalk, about 12cm long, leaves finely chopped 
2tsp caster sugar 
freshly cooked pappardelle pasta, to serve 
shavings of Parmesan cheese, to serve 
flaked sea salt 
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the boar into chunky pieces, each about 2.5cm. Trim off any really hard fat or sinew as you go – this is important, as boar sinew is very tough. Season the meat well with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the chunks of boar over a medium-high heat until nicely browned on all sides, turning them every now and then. Do this in a couple of batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan, adding more oil if necessary. As the meat is browned, transfer it to a large flameproof casserole dish or a large saucepan.

Add a little more oil to the pan in which you browned the boar and fry the bacon for 2-3 minutes, or until the fat crisps and browns, then scatter it over the meat. Add a touch more oil and fry the chopped onion over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir the garlic, olives and crushed juniper berries into the pan and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring. Add them to the meat in the casserole dish, then pour in the wine.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée and beef stock. Add all the herbs and the sugar and bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir well and cover the casserole loosely with a lid, then turn the heat down low and leave the ragu to simmer very gently for 2½ hours, or until the meat is completely tender and falling apart.

Remove the lid every now and then and stir. If the liquid reduces too much, add a little extra water. The sauce should be fairly thick at the end of the cooking time, but not at all dry. Remove the thyme and rosemary stalks and bay leaves, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with freshly cooked pappardelle pasta and Parmesan shavings. Any leftover sauce makes great ravioli or arancini.

The Hairy Bikers will be demonstrating live at BBC Good Food Show Winter, on 24-27 November at Birmingham NEC

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This will become a firm family favourite as it can be cooked in one dish and is so quick and easy to put together. If you’re making this for young children you can replace the wine with stock, if you prefer. Choose your favourite type of local, British sausage for this recipe – my family loves leek and sage.

Serves 4-6

2tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, sliced lengthways into wedges
2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into large dice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1tbsp chopped thyme leaves
500g (1lb 2oz) baby new potatoes, unpeeled and halved
12 sausages, pricked with a fork
200ml (7fl oz) white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7. Place all the ingredients except the wine in a large, resealable freezer bag. Seal the bag shut and shake well to coat everything in the oil. Alternatively, put everything in a large bowl and turn the ingredients until they are fully coated in the oil. Tip into a large roasting tin, spreading the ingredients out into one even layer and ensuring that the sausages aren’t covered by any of the vegetables. Season well with salt and pepper.

Roast for about 30-35 minutes until golden, then remove from the oven, turn the sausages over and toss the vegetables in the cooking juices. Pour in the wine and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes or until browned and the sausages are cooked and the potatoes tender. Serve hot with a dollop of mustard on the side.

Mary Berry will be demonstrating live at BBC Good Food Show Winter, on 24-27 November at Birmingham NEC