Joan Bishop shares a new favourite recipe discovered on a recent visit to Britain.
Centered around a bustling cobbled market square, dominated by the town hall clock, is the charming North Yorkshire town of Thirsk.
Not far from the medieval city of York, near Fountains Abbey, Harrogate and Ripon, Thirsk is the perfect base for exploring the beautiful Yorkshire moors and dales.
We spent four days here recently, exploring this part of England. The bed and breakfast we stayed in, a lovingly restored Georgian terrace house called the ''The Gallery'', is located at 18 Kirkgate, one of the streets just off the square.
Our charming and helpful host Kathryn is a member of Deliciouslyorkshire, a group dedicated to promoting and serving the food of the area.
Kathryn sources at least five ingredients on the breakfast menu from local and regional producers.
The breakfasts were the culinary highlight of my day and my absolute favourite on the menu was the leek and blue cheese sausages, a vegetarian sausage I absolutely loved; I asked for the recipe.
Now I can share it with you and of course I have tweaked the recipe here and there. I am totally delighted with these small sausages.
They are meltingly tender little mouthfuls, subtly flavoured with blue cheese that doesn't dominate but is a titillating, background flavour.
I don't eat a cooked breakfast at home so I serve these for lunch or a light dinner with the apple celery and grape salad.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1½ Tbsp olive oil
300g prepared leek trimmed
(1 large), halved lengthways and finely sliced
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
100g creamy blue cheese, chopped
150g day-old white, good quality breadcrumbs
100g ricotta cheese (I use Perfect Italiano)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 large egg, beaten (size 7)
20g Panko breadcrumbs or dried breadcrumbs
olive oil spray for cooking
Apple, celery and grape salad
2 crisp eating apples, preferably red skinned
2-3 stalks of celery, sliced thinly on the diagonal
250g small red or black grapes, halved if large, pips flicked out
70g brown-skinned almonds, toasted and chopped
2 Tbsp chopped mint leaves
Dressing
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp raw sugar
½ tsp salt
Method
Heat the oil in large fryingpan over medium heat.
Add the leeks and rosemary, turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until the leeks turn soft without colouring.
Add the chopped blue cheese to the hot leeks and stir until the cheese has melted. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl combine the leek mixture, breadcrumbs, ricotta, Dijon mustard and beaten egg and gently mix together to form a soft dough.
If time permits, cover and chill in the fridge for an hour or so. This makes the mixture easier to handle.
Shape into 14 sausages about 7-8 cm long and roll each one in the panko breadcrumbs.
Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.
Spray with the olive oil and place in an oven preheated to 210degC and cook for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden and heated through.
If more convenient, the uncooked sausages can be wrapped individually in cling film and frozen until required. Thaw before cooking.
If serving only one or two sausages, heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the sausages and fry over a medium heat, turning frequently for 10 minutes until golden and cooked through.
This recipe can be doubled successfully.
Apple, Celery and Grape salad
This simple salad, perfect for winter with apples and celery at their best, is light, crisp and clean.
The sweet-sour fruitiness of grapes contrasts well and the toasted almonds add flavour and crunch.
To make the dressing
Place all the ingredients in a small screw-top jar and shake well.
Core the apples, cut into quarters and then into 1-2cm pieces. Place in an attractive serving bowl with the celery, grapes and almonds.
Drizzle most of the dressing over the top (you may not need it all) and toss gently to combine. Add more dressing if needed.
Sprinkle with mint and serve.
