An 'Nduja Doubler

Because spicy sausage makes everything nicer...

I’m back after a little hiatus; Glastonbury & Portgual followed by a brutal spell of Norovirus. It’s been very much a mixed bag in terms of enjoyment value!

The theme for today is ‘nduja - a soft, spicy Italian sausage from Calabria with a spreadable texture and a fiery flavour. The texture lends itself really well to other ingredients because it’s very easy to incorporate into things. If you want to spike a dish with a well-rounded spicy hit then ‘nduja is your girl for that!

Onto the first of the two recipes…

I recently joined my friends for a BYO dish picnic & I made some scotch eggs. Making scotch eggs might seem daunting but it’s actually really fun & playful, with a divine result. This time, I added some ‘nduja to the sausage mixture which went onto wrap the eggs. It’s a simple additional step which really packs a punch.

The second recipe today is a quick, simple pasta dish I like to make myself at home on a weekday evening. Another benefit to ‘nduja is that it’s already well seasoned with lots of salt, smoky paprika and often garlic, so it’s a great corner-cutting ingredient for speedy meals. It performs gorgeously in this recipe with lots of zingy lemon zest, soft, sweet sautéed fennel & a garlicky, crispy, crunchy breadcrumb topping.

Enjoy!

‘NDUJA SCOTCH EGGS

Ingredients (makes 6)

For the soy cured eggs:

6 eggs

200ml soy sauce

100ml water

1 spring onion - finely sliced

1 garlic clove - minced

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp chilli flakes

For the sausage mixture:

6 good quality pork sausages

100g ‘nduja

20g chives - finely chopped

20g sage - leaves picked and finely chopped

To assemble:

100g plain flour

2 eggs - beaten with a splash of milk

100g panko breadcrumbs

500ml vegetable oil

Method:

We start prep for these the day before you’d like them to be finished . This is because we are going to soy cure the eggs. To do this, mix the soy sauce, water, spring onion, garlic, sesame seeds and chilli flakes in a bowl and set aside. Bring a pan of water up to a boil and place in the 6 eggs. Boil for 6 minutes then plunge into an ice bath.

Peel each egg gently then add into the bowl with the soy sauce mixure. Transfer to a airtight container (making sure the eggs are fully submerged) and leave in the fridge overnight.

The next day! In a frying pan, add the nduja on a low heat and let it melt down into a paste. Add in the herbs, stir through and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, remove the sausage meat from its casings. Add in the cooled nduja & herb mixture and mix well.

Take the eggs from their soy cure mixture and drain on some kitchen paper. Take 1 egg and dust with flour. Take a handful of sausage mixture and press into a flat patty. Place the dusted egg in the centre and manipulate the sausage mixture around the egg so that it’s fully encased. Set aside and repeat to all eggs.

Arrange a bowl of flour, beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs onto your table. Take each meat covered egg and dust in the flour, followed by the egg then the panko.

Bring a pan of oil up to 170C and deep fry each scotch egg for 5-6 minutes until deeply golden brown on the outside. Drain on some kitchen paper then they’ll be ready to eat warm or cold later on! Enjoy!

‘NDUJA & LEMON SPAGHETTI

Ingredients (serves 2)…