Catherine wheel sausage with pears, cobnuts & celeriac mash

Ingredients

For the celeriac mash

• 750g celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped
• 100ml hot milk
• 50g butter
• 6 spring onions, chopped

For the sausage & pears

• A string of 12 pork chipolatas (make sure that they’re joined together)
• 3 ripe pears
• A knob of butter
• A small wine glass of dry perry or cider
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp honey
• 100g fresh cobnuts, chopped, to serve

Method

Tip the celeriac into a large saucepan and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil – simmer for 20 mins until tender, then drain. Return the cooked celeriac to the pan and mash roughly. Stir in the hot milk, butter, spring onions and some seasoning then mix well. Pop the lid on the saucepan and keep warm until the sausages are ready.

Untwist the links between the chipolatas and push the sausage meat up towards one end to make one long sausage. Roll the sausage into a spiral and push a couple of pre-soaked wooden skewers through at right angles to secure.

Halve the pears and take out the cores with a melon baller.

Fry the sausage in a large frying pan on a medium heat for 10 mins on each side until browned all over. Drop a good knob of butter into the pan, then add the pears. After 5 mins, stir in the perry or cider followed by the mustard and honey. Season, then pop a lid on the pan and simmer on low for 15 mins, turning the pears and sausage intermittently.

Serve with a scattering of chopped cobnuts and the celeriac mash on the side.

Image: Stuart Ovenden

Recipe from The Orchard Cook: Recipes from Tree to Table by Stuart Ovenden (Clearview)