Baked Scotch Eggs

A scotch egg is a British dish that consists of a soft boiled egg wrapped in sausage and covered in a herbed bread crumbs coating. Its then either baked or fried till the coating is crisp. I baked mine because home frying is a skill the eludes me.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pork sausage
  • 4 soft boiled eggs
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp fennel seed
  • Salt/pepper
  • 2 tbsp basil, chopped
  • 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place sausage, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper and half your chopped herbs in bowl and combine well.
  3. In two smaller bowls put the beaten egg in one and in the other put your bread crumbs and herb mixture.
  4. Divide your sausage mixture into four equal parts. Flatten each sausage portion into a 4 inch circle.
  5. Place an egg in the center of the sausage party and wrap the egg entirely. Make sure no egg shows through. Do all four eggs like this.
  6. Dip each egg into the beaten egg bowl and let the excess drip off. Then roll in the panko and herb mixture.
  7. Place each egg on the baking sheet a couple inches from each other. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Flip half way through to get even browning.

Zuppa Toscana

I decided to try this soup because I don’t have many soups in my repertoire and I really needed something to eat with my foccacia that I had made the same day. Soup I have discovered is all about layering and this one definitely packs a flavor punch.

This soup from what I have seen is normally made with kale, but I didn’t have any so I used the spinach in my fridge and it still turned out amazing.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground sausage
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 4 large Russet Potatoes
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • salt/pepper
  • parmesan cheese, for sprinkling on top

Directions

  1. In a large stock pot on medium high heat cook your sausage. For roughly 5-6 minutes until its browned all over. Take it out and put it in a separate bowl.
  2. Put butter, onion and shallot into pot and cook until your onions get some color on them. About 4 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  3. Add chicken broth, potatoes and salt/pepper. Cook for about ten minutes until potatoes are tender. This will vary depending on how small you dice your potato.
  4. Stir in heavy cream, spinach and sausage. Cook for a couple of minutes until spinach wilts a little.
  5. Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top.
  6. Optional: serve with rosemary parmesan foccacia https://bottomlesschips.food.blog/2020/04/28/rosemary-parmesan-foccacia/

Smoked Bean Duo

Spicy and Fragrant

The pantry panic is real folks. Stores look real empty and the list of available ingredients is real short. So I created a series of recipes using what happens to be the most available protein in my grocery store…smoked sausage! Here is my smoked bean duo. Now this recipe is one where you can use whatever veggies you have on hand. I used the halves of two different onions you obviously can use a whole onion of whatever variety you have or no onion at all. My hope for the pantry panic series is to give people a framework for inspiration.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound smoked sausage
  • 1 half red onion, chunky dice
  • 1 half yellow onion, chunky dice
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 teaspoons mixed fresh herb(I used basil, thyme, rosemary)
  • 1 can diced tomato
  • 1 can pinto beans
  • 1 bag frozen black eyed peas
  • 3 mini sweet peppers, sliced
  • 3 cup water
  • 2 beef stock cubes
  • salt/pepper
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions

  1. Put 3 cups of water and 2 beef stock cubs into a large pot. Bring it to a boil.
  2. Add the bag of frozen black eyed peas and stir. The ones I bought had to cook for 45 minutes.
  3. While that’s cooking put your sausage, onion and pepper into a pan with the vegetable oil. Cook for about ten minutes on medium heat till your sausage and onion get some color on them.
  4. While that’s cooking cut your aromatics(garlic and mixed fresh herb). Put half in the stock pot with the black eyed peas and the other half in with your sausage mixture.
  5. Put pinto beans and canned tomato into sausage mixture and cook down for about 5-8 minutes. It allows the juices from the canned tomato to cook down with the juices in the pan.
  6. Put your sausage mixture into the stock pot and stir to combine. Cook down for the remaining time till the black eyed peas are cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Sausage Roll

Welcome to the next post in a series of recipes inspired by my local ingredient shortage. Its my version of a sausage roll with shortcrust pastry. You can make it with any flavor smoked sausage you can get your hands on. The shortcrust pastry is only four ingredients and super simple.

Ingredients

For Pastry

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, cubed
  • about a 1/4 cup water
  • 1 egg mixed with water for brushing

Filling

  • Smoked sausage any flavor, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch long pieces

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a food processor put your flour, butter and salt and pulse it until the cutter and flour combine in a bread crumby texture. (If you don’t have a food processor you can do it with a fork.)
  3. Slowly combine water and pulse until dough comes together. It will look a little dry.
  4. Dump it out onto a floured surface and combine it into a ball. Mashing the dryer bits into the ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes so the butter chills again.
  5. When the pastry has chilled roll it out onto a floured surface about a 1/4 inch thick. Place your sausage pieces on the pastry and cut the pastry big enough to wrap the sausage completely.
  6. Place your sausage rolls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and brush the tops of the pastry with the egg wash.
  7. put in the oven for 30 minutes. They should be golden brown.

Recipe should make about 6 rolls

Quarantine Pantry Pasta

Hello everyone and welcome to the first in a series of recipes inspired by our current fresh ingredient shortage. I stood in Walmart yesterday and very nearly cried. I couldn’t believe how empty the shelves were due to people self quarantining themselves. I should’ve taken pictures. The thing that was so mind boggling to me…all the jalapeno peppers were gone. Where did they go? Who is making buckets of salsa?

Anyway here is the recipe I am calling Quarantine Pantry Pasta. A recipe that can be done with whatever you have in your pantry and whatever you can find in your local produce section. I chose smoked sausage for the protein because it’s the protein being left on my local grocery store shelf.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
  • 1/2 a yellow onion, chunky chop
  • an assortment of tomatoes, sliced (i used 2 roma and a handful of teeny weeny tomatoes I had from Trader Joes)
  • 3/4 cup beef stock
  • 3 tablespoon vegetable oil for cooking
  • 2 sprigs of oregano, chopped
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary,chopped
  • 3-4 basil leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. red chili flake
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt/pepper
  • Small pasta of any size cooked to box instructions. (I was only trying to feed three people so I used a half a bag of egg noodle I had in my cupboard.)
  • 1/4 cup pasta water

Tip: If you don’t have any fresh herbs you can use dried italian herbs. What I had came out to about 2 tablespoons of fresh herb once it was chopped. You are going to want to use more if using dried though cause the flavor isn’t as strong. So I would up it to three tablespoons of dried herb at least.

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a pan till it moves around the pan like water. Add onion and tomatoes. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until onions start to soften.
  2. Start your water for pasta. SALT YOUR PASTA WATER!!! Until it tastes like the ocean. Bring it to a boil and add whatever noodle you chose.
  3. While your pasta is going add your sausage to the pan and cook an for about five minutes. When it starts to pick up some color.
  4. Add your beef stock and all your herbs and garlic. Simmer while your pasta cooks.
  5. When the pasta is done drain all the water except about a 1/4 cup. This delicious salty water is going to be added to your pan. Dump the pasta and water into the pan.
  6. Salt and pepper to taste and let it cook together for another five minutes. The stock should cook down and cover all your pasta like a thin sauce.

This recipe could serve roughly four people. I only have three people in my house and two of us had seconds. I hope this helps somebody.

Smoked Sausage Stew

Perfect for a cold winter evening

Ingredients

  • 1 package smoked sausage/keilbasa
  • 1 can canellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 can diced tomato
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • 1/2 c. chopped spinach
  • 2 tsp. butter
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • salt/pepper

Directions

  1. Heat a large pot on medium heat.
  2. Put butter, garlic, cayenne and onion in pan and let it cook until onion is soft.
  3. Add sausage and cook for about 3-5 minutes until sausage gets a little color.
  4. Add tomato paste, celery, carrot and bell pepper to pot. Stir until paste breaks up and coats the veggies and meat and let it cook for about five minutes.
  5. Add beans, beef stock and tomatoes with juice. Cook for about fifteen minutes. You want it to thicken up slightly and come together.
  6. Add your spinach, salt and pepper to taste and cook till spinach wilts slightly. (about 3 minutes) Don’t overcook it because you don’t want the spinach to lose its color.