Greek Sausages

Tasty, cumin and herb spiced homemade sausages in a rich tomato sauce laced with cinnamon and red wine make this a budget meal of restaurant quality.  Midweek, weekend.....for four or ten, these babies will take you straight to the mediterranean!

Serves 4

You will need:

500gm of lean beef mince
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 a bunch of oregano, sprigs removed and finely chopped
1/2 a bunch of thyme, sprigs removed and finely chopped
2 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
2 tbs of tomato paste
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 egg
sea salt and cracked pepper

For the sauce:

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 brown onion, finely diced
1 tbs chopped fresh oregano
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 cup of dry red wine
1 x  400gm tin of diced tomatoes
2 tbs of tomato paste
2 tsp of sugar
sea salt and cracked pepper

4 tbs of greek yoghurt
2 tbs of fresh mint, finely sliced
2 cups of brown rice
3 cups of water
20gm of butter
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

In a large bowl, combine all the sausage ingredients.  Push your sleeves up and get your hands in there, mixing really well.  Pop the mixture in the fridge for 1/2 an hour (not essential, it just helps the sausages stay together better).

Pop the rice, water and butter in a large saucepan.  Season with salt and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.  Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low and cover with a tight fitting lid.  Simmer for approx 45 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

Heat some oil in a large, heavy based fry pan.  Shape the mince mixture into small sausage shapes, about 8cm long and 1 inch thick (should make approx 12) and lightly fry until golden brown on all sides.  Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.

In the same pan, fry the onion, oregano and garlic until soft.  Add the red wine vinegar.  This will deglaze the pan and lift all the flavour from the base of the pan.  When that has all but disappeared add the red wine and allow to reduce for approx 5 minutes before adding the tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon stick and sugar.  Bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.

Pop the sausages in the pan and make sure they are all buried in the sauce.  Cook gently for 1/2 an hour until the sausages are cooked all the way through and the sauce has reduced a little.

Fluff the rice with a fork and divide among 4 plates.  Pile on the sausage and sauce and top with the yoghurt and mint.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil for a final flourish and a little burst of flavour!
Serve with a greek salad, green salad or steamed greens....