Braised sausages and potatoes with grapes recipe

Braised sausages and potatoes with grapes recipe - Matt Austin
Braised sausages and potatoes with grapes recipe - Matt Austin

This is my interpretation of 'saucisson Alicante Bouschet', a great dish I ate at a winery, Deux Roches, in Burgundy. The original used local sausages and grape must (the crushed grapes and juice before winemaking begins), but we can improvise with what’s available here to get as close as possible. I experimented by blending some tiny red grapes from a vine in my garden that never ripened with some red wine, but any red grapes and heavy red wine will do. Use the meatiest sausages you can get your hands on.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

  • 8 medium-sized waxy potatoes, peeled

  • 8 medium shallots, peeled

  • 500ml red wine

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed or grated

  • good knob of butter

  • ½ tbsp plain flour

  • 100g red grapes

  • 500ml chicken stock

  • 8 large, coarse meaty sausages, pricked a few times with a skewer

  • 1 tbsp oil chopped parsley, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 5.

2. Cook the potatoes and shallots in the red wine for about 15 minutes or until tender, and leave to cool in the wine.

3. Meanwhile, gently cook the onion and garlic in the butter in a large pan for 2-3 minutes until softened, then stir in the flour.

4. Lift out the potatoes and shallots from the wine and set aside. Blend the grapes and wine together in a food processor then slowly stir this into the onion mixture over a low heat. Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

5. Meanwhile brown the sausages all over in the oil in a frying pan and drain off any excess fat, then transfer them to a casserole or ovenproof dish. Pour the wine sauce over the sausages, season, cover with a lid or some foil and cook for 45 minutes in the oven. At this point add the potatoes and shallots to the dish and simmer (you can leave the pan uncovered) for another 5 minutes.

6. The sauce should have nicely thickened; if not, remove the potatoes, shallots and sausages and simmer the sauce on the stove until it thickens then add back the sausages, potatoes and shallots.

7. Serve, scattered with chopped parsley, with greens or some root vegetables.

Click here to discover the perfect wine to serve with braised sausages, potatoes and grapes, from Telegraph Wine Cellar