Onion & Apple Rissoles

A while back a local sausage manufacturer was asking for submissions for a new sausage flavour.   I had some fun experimenting in the kitchen and came up with the following which can be made into rissoles or shaped into sausages.

Put into a large bowl:

500grams (1.1 lbs) of sausage meat
1 large grated onion
1 large grated apple, preferably Granny Smith but any kind will suffice
1 large egg
2 Tbsps of tomato paste (or use sauce or relish)
2 tsps curry powder
1/2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

Mix and squish it all together by hand using very clean hands or disposable food handling gloves.  If necessary add enough coarse or Panko breadcrumbs to ensure the mixture binds together enough to make the sausages or rissoles.

Shape by hand as desired into rissoles or sausages and roll in coarse or Panko breadcrumbs. Shallow fry in olive oil each side till cooked.

They are quite economical as I made nine large sausages from the mixture and everyone who tries them seems to find them very tasty.

Sausage Pie

This sausage pie is one of Andrew's favourites and seems to be well liked by most people who try it.  It's very easy to make and also excellent value as I find it will make 3 large pies out of 2 packets or 1 kg of sausage meat.  It always seems very meaty to most people even though you can sneak quite a lot of vegetables into it!

Ingredients
3 onions
6 cloves of garlic
3 rashers of bacon
dash of oil
1 kg - or 2.2 lbs - of sausage meat
2 potatoes, peeled and grated
2 apples, washed and grated (no need to remove the skin)
2 carrots, peeled and grated
4 Tbsp of tomato relish (or sauce)
1 packet of dried mushroom soup
1 heaped tsp of curry powder
2 free range eggs
1 tsp mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
3 cups of grated cheese (approximately)
Red onions, tomatoes or mushrooms for the top (optional).

Method
1. Peel and chop the onions fairly finely. Peel, crush and finely chop the garlic. Remove any rinds and chop bacon into small pieces. Brown onion, garlic and bacon in oil for about 5 minutes, then turn off heat and cool.

2. Put sausage meat, potatoes, apples, carrots,  tomato relish, mushroom soup, curry powder, eggs, mixed herbs and salt and pepper into a very large bowl.  Add the cooled onions, garlic and bacon.  Mix the ingredients together thoroughly.

3. Press into pie or baking dishes. I find the mixture makes 3 regular sized large pies. Do not make the pies too thick - 1 to 2 inches is about right. You can sprinkle some extra mixed herbs on the top if you wish.

4. Sprinkle each pie with grated cheese and - if desired - layer slices of red onion, tomato or mushroom on top.

5. Bake at 180C for about 40 minutes.

Spicy Meatloaf

This is a very yummy meatloaf.  It makes a 500 gm pack of sausage meat and about the same amount of minced beef go a long way.

Ingredients

Loaf
2 onions, chopped
1 apple, grated (leave skin on)
1 carrot, grated
1 egg
1 cup of breadcrumbs or cooked rice or cooked pasta
2 teaspoons of curry powder
500 gms (1.1 lbs) of beef steak mince
500 gms (1.1 lbs) of sausage meat
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of milk
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Put into two greased, medium sized oven-proof dishes.

Bake together at 180C or 350F for an hour, then remove from oven and drain off excess fat and liquid, cover with sauce and return to oven for another 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
4 tablespoons of vinegar
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup of brown sugar
50 grams of butter
2 teaspoons of instant coffee powder.

Method:

Combine and simmer in a saucepan on the stove for 5 minutes or otherwise combine and microwave on high for 2 - 3 minutes. 

This is very nice served with mashed potatoes and green vegetables. It's even better the day after and the day after that!