I’m a big fan of the humble banger, and It’s British Sausage Week, so if you’ve been neglecting one of the Western World’s greatest inventions, nows your chance to make amends. I don’t know why, but food writers tend not to eulogise about the sausage in the same way that they might do about oysters or fois gras, but I read a great article by Matthew Fort on the subject a few years ago which for some reason I kept. I think he sums up the appeal pretty well.

“As far as I’m concerned, the sausage is just about man’s noblest creation. It is a wonder (or should be), a perfect piece of design, elegant and economical…Sausages are classless, as acceptable on the table of the royal family as on that of the Royle family. Is there anyone who does not smile at the sight of a sausage? Who’s mouth does not salivate just a bit at the thought of that first bite?”

So in honour of the banger and British Sausage Week, here’s a recipe for a warming and tasty sausage casserole. It’s a bit of a French remix of a Delia recipe, and is the perfect dish for this time of year.

Ingredients

6 good quality Toulouse sausages

4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

150 g lardons

15 shallots, peeled

(more…)