Riding Out The Storm - Spicy Sausage Patties

Here is why Andy is my most favourite person in the world.  On Friday night, when the city was being cruelly and mercilessly battered by Mother Nature, in the worst storm since 1968 (200km wind!), when we were holed up in our house with what must have been the best view in the house of the ravaging seas, instead of being miserable and scared, he suggested we make the most of the opportunity and turn it into a mid-winter feast for two, of the sort we normally indulge in around Christmas time.

Thus Mulled Wine (Andy’s ultimate recipe, through years of dedicated and selfless testing, will be coming soon), Charcuterie, many, many cheeses, Pringles, crisps, dips and nuts were on the menu, and for viewing – what else would do in such circumstances but Home Alone?

I made the dip from an old favourite recipe, and to accompany all these picky delights, I made another picky delight, turning, as I do with extraordinary regularity, to Nigella Lawson.  These Spicy Sausage Patties are from her book ‘Kitchen’, a book which resonates so loudly with me with its talk of the pivotal role of the kitchen in a home.

I haven’t yet had my dream kitchen, my warm room that takes up the entire lower ground floor of my dream home and is the first place that everyone stops when they visit our house, but I will, one day, and I will know it the second I see it.  In fact, I know it will be a replica of the kitchens in those exquisite granite houses on The Chanonry in Old Aberdeen, which I used to shuffle past, a frozen and unhappy university student, and wonder at the pangs that those lamp-lit, warm vignettes I glimpsed through the windows created deep within me.  Already I was lingering, unwilling, on the route to a so-called respectable law degree that was meant to lead to a so-called respectable career; already I was delighting in the distractions of food and all the wonderful trappings that surround it.  Warmth.  Light.  Family.  Home.

So no, I haven’t yet had my dream kitchen.  But with a husband who will see the potential joy in any situation, wants to experience life to the full, and who, on the stormiest night that Wellington has seen in 45 years turns our home into a candle-lit place with food and wine and laughter, then I can do no more than count my blessings at the miracle of our haven while the storm swirls around us.

Well, that and make food for the journey.

Spicy Sausage Patties
Adapted from Nigella Lawson*, Kitchen

500g good quality sausages
1 inch piece grated fresh ginger
1 green chilli, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
2 teaspoons English mustard
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
1 large spring onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh coriander stalks and leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
Approximately 10 iceberg lettuce leaves
2 limes, cut into wedges

Squeeze the sausage meat out of the sausage skins, and put in a bowl with the ginger, chillies, mustard, garlic, spring onion and coriander.  Mix well.

Use a tablespoon to measure out each patty - take the mix from the spoon, form it into a mini burger shape, and put on a plate.  Cover with cling film and leave to rest for an hour.

When you are ready to serve, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.  Cook the patties for about 3 minutes each side, until cooked all the way through (you will need to do this in batches unless you have a giganto-pan).

To eat each patty, squeeze lime over and wrap in a lettuce leaf.

*Like everyone, I am more than aware of the horrible situation Nigella Lawson is currently in.  Others have expressed my thoughts on the matter far more eloquently than I could; so I will just say I hope she is safe, I hope she is with people who love her, I hope she can take some comfort from the outpouring of love and admiration for her from strangers such as myself, I hope she finds peace soon, and I hope some good can come of this.  I wish her strength.