Oven Cooked Pork and Fennel Risotto

This week I bought a coat... in June... JUNE. So excuse me while I share with you a recipe that isn’t particularly seasonal. I’ve been resorting back to my more wintery repertoire of warm and comforting suppers, as when the rain is driving against the window and wind is fluttering the roof tiles, I can think of nothing better then standing over a simmering pan for an hour or so. Of course, I’d love to be marinating copious amounts of meat in preparation for an upcoming barbecue, but this evening an oven cooked risotto seemed more appropriate. 

The first risotto I ever made was cooked in the oven rather then through the traditional method of adding stock slowly to the pan and stirring. I will admit that the traditional method does allow for little more control over the level of bite that you’re after, but when you want something that you can throw in the oven and forget about, then this is the risotto for you. 

Fennel and pork is a classic combination, and here I have coupled thin slices of fennel with both crumbled sausage meat, which adds texture and meatiness, and chunks of chorizo, which brings a punch of spice along with the Tabasco. Overall, the risotto is sweet and satisfying, with hints of aniseed, spice and porky-ness. If it’s not too naughty, or if you’re splitting the recipe to serve four rather then two, a wedge of crusty bread to mop up the sauce would be lovely. 

Serves 2 greedy people 

a splash of olive oil

4 sausages

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

3 sprigs of rosemary, chopped

a few drops of Tabasco

an inch or so of spicy chorizo sausage, chopped

150g arborio rice

large glass of white wine

roughly 200g of passata

250ml chicken stock 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat the oil in a large pan that can go in the oven, and that has a lid. Remove the sausages from their skins and crumble the meat into the pan. Be sure not to allow the meat to burn. 
2. Add the fennel, onion, garlic, two thirds of the rosemary, Tabasco and chorizo, stir and fry for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the rice, then add the wine, passata and stock. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil.
4. Put the lid on the pan, put it in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
5. Serve with a sprinkling of the remaining rosemary. 

Honey Glazed Sausages with Root Veg Mash and Onion Gravy

I’m not going to lie, I’m more of a Winter person then a Summer one, partly because I’m obsessed with Christmas, and partly because I love Winter-y comfort food. Bangers and mash is one of my favourite tasty and warming suppers and when Ben’s mum gave me some fantastic homegrown vegetables I really couldn’t resist making this hugely simple and always delicious dish.

There really is nothing better then eating food that came out of the ground just a few hours before, I think you’ll agree it tastes so much better then what you buy in the store and is such a treat. Plus, you might even get a parsnip that looks like a person – win!!

I baked my sausages in the oven according to instructions, adding a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard and one of runny honey for the final five minutes to create a sweet and sticky glaze. The root veg created an earthy mash, that made a nice change to the more familiar potato version, and the gravy kept everything from becoming too dry.

Serves 2

4 to 6 sausages

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

½ onion, chopped

200ml beef stock

knob of butter (plus more for the mash)

1 ½ tbsp plain flour

Various root vegetables, chopped (I used 1 swede and 2 parsnips)

1. Bake the sausages according to instructions, stirring in the honey and mustard for the final five minutes of cooking. Soften the onion in butter before stirring in the flour, a little at a time, and adding the beef stock. Leave to thicken on a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, boil the root vegetables for around 25 minutes, before mashing with a wedge of butter.
3. Serve with greens. 

Mini Sausage Rolls

It was my 21^st Birthday last December and I hosted a party at the flat to celebrate. I got very excited about hosting, as I always seem to do, and had grand plans to make heaps of nibbles to go with the case of Prosecco I bought. In the end I ended up getting everything from Sainsburys, and only managed to make the strawberry vodka jelly shots and a plate of smoke salmon bilinis. Poor effort I know. Well if only I had known how easy to make these little morsels of sausage deliciousness are, my guests would have had them coming out of their ears. Prepared ahead and baked in a preheated oven for 20 minutes and you’ve got the perfect finger food for a party or picnic (or a quick and easy snack for any day).

Adapted from Nigella Kitchen

Makes around 70

Packet ready rolled puff pastry, defrosted

1 egg

2 packets of original frankfurters

1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Roll out the pastry and cut into pre-measured strips that are the length and width of the sausage. Beat the egg in a bowl (Nigella brushes the egg wash over the pastry strips, but I found this made them very difficult to assemble so I just put the wash over the top of the prepared rolls before putting them in the oven).
2. Roll the sausages up in the pastry strips and cut each into 4 pieces, ensure you don’t unroll the rolls!! Then place on a baking sheet.
3. Paint the tops of the rolls with the egg wash (I didn’t have a brush so dribbled it over with a spoon). Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry has puffed up and is golden in colour.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £4

Kitchen Requirements: BAKING SHEET, SMALL BOWL, BRUSH OR SPOON.

Nigella's Speedy Scaloppine with Rapid Roastini

A recipe that really passed me by when I first got the book, this simple supper is cheap, quick and easy, perfect for those days you’ve been rushed off your feet (it does happen to students occasionally, promise). My sauce turned out more of a zesty mush as my pan was too hot and evaporated all of the juice, but apart from that the recipe was very easy to follow. The rapid roastini, or fried gnocchi, was surprisingly tasty, stodgy yes, but quick to do and a pleasant change from your average two veg. I served mine with a simple baby spinach leaf salad and a spoonful of tzatziki, I seem to be slightly obsessed with the stuff at the moment.

From Nigella Kitchen

Serves 2

2x 15ml tbsp plain flour

a shake of mixed spice (I used ground cinnamon, ground ginger and ground cumin)

a shake of cayenne pepper

2 pork escalopes

2x 15ml olive oil (Nigella uses garlic oil), plus 2 for the gnocchi

zest and juice of one lemon

250g gnocchi

1. Put the flour and spices into a bowl, then add the escalopes and coat them.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the meat and cook for 2 minutes on each side until cooked. Remove the escalopes to warm plates and take the pan off the heat.
3. Meanwhile, heat the other 2 tbsp oil in another pan and fry the gnocchi for 4 minutes on wither side, until golden.
4. Grate the lemon zest into the still warm pan with the meat juices and squeeze over the juice of the lemon. Stir until you have a syrupy sauce. Pour this over the escalopes and serve the whole lots with a green salad.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: £4

Kitchen Requirements: TWO FRYING PANS, BOWL, ZESTER.