Relaxing weekend cooking - sausages and cake

 It's been a week of extremes, really. The children are so pleased to be back at school, much happier with their friends and proper educational stimulation. The house is quieter, the additional layer of working/parenting guilt has been removed and there are spare biscuits. It's still edgy, though, the anxiety about their safety, the seeming difficulties of getting a test, the chances of multiple periods of isolation, and the need to distance again from at risk members of the family. Add in all the other stuff, and comfort food is required.

This is a Jamie Oliver sausage casserole. I find the descriptions in most of his recipe books, especially the 15 and 30 minute ones, almost impossible to follow. This one (7 Ways) focuses on an individual ingredient per chapter (much like the superior Real Food, love Nigel Slater) and is much simpler in tone. It still reads a bit like it was run through an algorithm - 'season to perfection' is used every time salt is mentioned - but I had lots of sausages in the freezer due to over-enthusiasic potential barbecue shopping by my husband, so decided to give this one a go.

You need at least 6 Cumberland or veggie sausages (I had 10 in a pack, so used them all up). Fry for 10 minutes until browned then leave aside. 

Meanwhile, peel and chop 800g of potatoes and boil until mashable. Leave to cool for a bit, then mash with 1 heaped tsp of wholegrain mustard. When you can handle it without getting burnt, form into 4 balls of mustard mash.

Next, fry off 2 chopped leeks and 2 chopped carrots in the oil left from cooking the sausages. Give them around 15 minutes until soft. Add another tsp of wholegrain mustard, 3 tbsp of HP sauce, a tin of mixed beans with all its juice and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to perfection...

Take off the heat and add in the 4 balls of mash, brushed with olive oil on the top. Score the sausages at half centimetre intervals and arrange round the mash.

JO then tells you to grill the lot for 15 minutes, but my grill is integral and a bit smoky, so I just lobbed it in a very hot oven for the same amount of time. It still crisped up. It was really good, especially the sauce. I added some green veg, but it was already packed full of healthy stuff. The whole lot disappeared.

Cake was orange and almond. Although the recipe seemed faffy, it was actually fairly simple. First simmer a couple of oranges in water for up to 2 hours, or when you can pierce the skin with a spoon. This will make your kitchen smell delicious. Once cooked, pull apart, removing the pips, and blitz the whole lot in a food processor or mini-chopper (my favourite gadget).

Next, whisk 6 eggs until fluffy and mousse-like. Gradually add 225g of caster sugar. Next fold in 250g of ground almonds and 1 tsp of baking powder. Finally, fold in the orange pulp. Pour into a 23 inch cake tin (greased and lined) and bake at 160 fan for about an hour.

I have to admit, the finished result is not pretty, not helped by me opening the spring on the cake tin before making sure the cake was totally free of the sides. It ended up a bit cracked and broken. It did, however, taste absolutely delicious. This is usually how my cakes go, to be honest! It made a lovely pudding eaten with plain yoghurt.

The whole meal was a bit autumnal, but not winter, and was certainly comforting. Back to summery food next week, though.