A Visit to Connie’s
This recipe was given to me by my good friend Connie when I recently went to stay with her and her husband Ted. They live about 250 miles from me, so needless to say, we don’t get together very often – and so when we do there is always a lot to talk about and plenty of catching up to do! I stayed overnight so Connie kindly cooked a meal for us to share.
Time With Friends
It is often the way that when you have friends to stay, you want to cook them a delicious meal but you don’t want to be spending hours in the kitchen, when you could be sharing valuable time with your friends chatting and enjoying each other’s company. So although a meal needs to be tasty, it must also be easy and quick to prepare – and not require too much concentration or time. After all with old friends, there is no need to impress with fancy food – just to prepare and share good, honest, delicious food – and have plenty of time to chat, share and laugh!
This recipe really fits the bill – it is a great Saturday supper when you want something good and tasty, but easy and quick to prepare. Once all the chopping has been done – and as Connie points out, this can be shared with friends too! – it all goes into one pan and there is no real need for any further vegetables although a few salad leaves could be served with it.
Connie normally likes to use Mattesson sausages in this recipe, although on the occasion that I visited she used excellent, locally produced, pork sausages and these will do just as well, so go with your preference. The only thing I would say is do use quality sausages, from a local butcher or local food supplier if you can, so you can know what is in your sausage. I rather suspect some good pork and apple sausages would be delicious in this recipe!
Matteson Sausage
Now you, like me, may have thought a Matteson sausage is processed with little meat content! Well if you thought that – like me – you would be wrong as it is 95% meat – better than most other sausages. The company was founded by a German man, Richard Mattes, and the sausage recipe is based on a German recipe. Connie also recommends kielbasa sausage as an alternative. These are Eastern European sausages, which, outside Eastern Europe, are proabaly better known in the US.
As the recipe is made in one pot, there is minimal washing up required too. So there is little to get in the way of enjoying th evening over wine, coffee, chocolates or whatever takes your fancy and most importantly, plenty of conversation!
Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
This is a quick, tasty recipe. It’s even quicker if everyone helps with the prep!
Connie’s Sausage Hash
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 750g-1kg / 2lb red potatoes
- 500g /1lb Mattesons (or other) Sausage
- 1 large onion
- 2 large bell peppers (any colour)
- 200g / 7oz frozen sweetcorn
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cooking Directions
- Chop the potatoes (no need to peel) into a small dice
- Chop the sausage into small bite-sized pieces
- Peel and slice the onion
- De-seed and chop the bell peppers
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large frying pan
- Add the potatoes and sausage, cooking until the sausage is browned and potatoes are nearly done, about 15 minutes
- Add the onion and peppers and cook until onion has softened; by this time potatoes should be almost done
- Add the sweetcorn and cook until corn is hot
Optional: Serve hash with a fried egg on top.
I forgot to say — when I use the Matteson’s sausages, I usually get the low-fat ones. I can’t tell the difference in taste from the full-fat versions.