Mix and match sausage & bean cassoulet

I’ve just got back from a 4 day work trip to the USA. Before I left I decided to make something new as a ‘last supper’ tea for Dave. When I’m gone he lives exclusively on a diet of pizza and chips and tuna cobs so I felt it was my duty as WTB (wife to be) to give him something homemade and vaguely nourishing before I left.

We nipped into our local Budgen’s supermarket in Mountsorrel earlier and bought some lovely Farmer Fear’s pork sausages which were on offer so I decided to make a cassoulet. With this in mind I started browsing my cook books and looking at various recipes online but couldn’t 100% decide on which recipe to go with. There were various online which looked appealing, in particular by Gino D’Campo, Nigel Slater and Jamie Oliver. But, as I said, none felt quite right so I created my own amalgamation of several different variations on the theme.

All the Farmer Fear products come from quality local farms meaning there is little impact on the environment and no carbon footprint. I am a BIG FAN and if you find yourself near Mountsorrel, would recommend a visit to stock up!

Al’s Sausage & Bean Cassoulet

Ingredients:

Excuse my ‘loose’ measurements, cooking in our family has never been too precise. Suck and See method!

• 6 good quality pork sausages
• 1 tin of cannellini beans
• 1 tin of plum tomatoes
• approx 4 rashers smoky bacon diced
• 50g green beans (topped and tailed)
• 1 onion diced
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• pinch of sugar & seasoning
• Glug of red wine
• Sprinkle of fresh thyme
• Glug of olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 100ml beef stock (I’m sure veg would work fine).

Method:

(This is where it gets a bit wooly!)

1. You can either fry or grill the sausages until nicely browned, then set aside for later.
2. Pan fry the bacon lardons for a few mins until beginning to crisp. Turn the heat down and add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 mins.
3. At this point I added a glug of red wine and let it bubble for a few mins to cook off the alcohol.
4. Add the tomatoes, green beans, a pinch of sugar, the stock and bay leaf. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for approx 10 mins, stirring regularly.
5. Transfer to a casserole dish and add the beans and sausages.
6. Put this into the over for approx 15 mins in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees (fan). This will cook through the sausages and soften the beans. The sauce will also thicken.
7. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread or rice.

Here is how the finished thing should look!

By Alex of Gingey Bites

Review of Itihaas, Fleet Street, Birmingham

It’s quite amazing how many people haven’t heard of this place, the few people who know this fine dining establishment speak about it like it’s the best around and yet in all my years of searching for quality Indian cuisine I have never had the pleasure of visiting Itihaas. Thank goodness I did…

Itihaas is Indian fine dining at its very best. It is situated on Fleet Street, central Birmingham and is easily walkable from the summer row and Jewellery quarter pubs and bars. On the particular evening of my visit the country was enjoying a warm spell of weather which made the very cool air conditioned ambiance most welcoming on my entrance to the restaurant. I was also welcomed with warm smiles and shown swiftly to my table.

Upon first glance and to be fair second glance the menu was extensive, my dining partners were more aghast than flummoxed as we studied the array of dishes available. Much deliberation later we decided on starters:

Mirchi Lasooni Jhinga – butter coated prawns in a flaming wok, tossed with spring onions, green chillies, garlic, sweet plum chilli sauce and soy sauce

Tiranghi Murgh – marinated trio of chicken skewers displaying the colours of the Indian flag. Fiery orange chicken tikka, fenugreek, spinach and mint marinated Baabri Tikka and creamy mild yogurt and cheddar cheese marinated marai chicken.

First thing to note was the stunning presentation, candles with elegant trays to add a bit of style and more importantly warmth to keep your dish fresh. The prawns were tangy and sweet with the plum sauce and had just enough spice to make this dish a perfect mix of sweet and sour ingredients which is often evident in asian cooking. The food whilst a delicious mixture of flavours if anything was more substantial than I would normally expect of a starter and it made me wonder if I would be able to enjoy my main course as much.

My girlfriend’s dish was even more appealing; it mimicked a small tandoor in which a candlelight shone from the bottom highlighting the exquisite presentation. The chicken was 3 kebabs of 3 pieces of brilliantly succulent meat which fell deliciously off the skewer, the 3 colours showing the colours of the Indian flag, this displaying the attention to detail which Itihaas clearly goes to for it’s customers. For all its plusses this dish was very large by starter standards and again we wondered how big the main courses would then be.

Again we were pleasantly surprised; the main courses came and offered a more reasonably expected portion which had my taste buds tingling with anticipation. We selected:

Tandoori Trout – a fusion of east and west. British seafood with Indian cooking techniques and spices.

Maha Jingha – freshwater king prawns, in a tangy marinade roasted in the tandoor.

Being a seafood fan I was intrigued as to how this fusion would work. The fish was served on the bone and was a delight to look at. The fish came off the bone very nicely and the spices were just enough to highlight the beauty of the fish without overpowering. Also with enough lettuce greens to compliment.

The prawns also highlighted superb attention to flavouring, the prawns perfectly cooked, juicy with bags of flavour and spice, they were large but yet were so good to eat made you want more and more.

The side dishes of naan bread and rice were more traditionally cooked and also showed good texture which added to the overall experience. The wine list was expensive, but with a decent selection of wines of fruity and tangy red wines which would compliment spicy food. I was looking for a merlot wine which I find goes excellently with Indian food and found this reasonably priced on an expensive list.

There is no doubt this was a ‘very’ fine dining experience, possibly the best I have experienced, not the cheapest, but with quality comes expense and on this occasion that was most definitely worth it. By no means however was the bill excessive either, the main winner of the night was the food though, brilliant flavours and elegant presentation. Don’t be too keen to tell your friends about this one, you may want to keep it to yourself. I know I will be…

By Robert Wilson