Farm shops bang the drum for British Sausage Week

Oct 30 2009 The Journal

BRITISH Sausage Week this year runs from November 2-8 and unashamedly bangs the drum for this most quintessential of comfort foods.

Now in its 12th year and organised by the British Sausage Appreciation Society, British Sausage Week aims to celebrate the taste, quality and variety of the sausage – of which there are some 400 individually named varieties.

Whether grilled for breakfast, in a casserole, or with mash and gravy, the British sausage continues to be a family fave.

Some of the very best sausages can be found right here in the North East. Whether you want tasty, hot and spicy, or rich and gamey, there is a sausage for every taste.

Local farm shops are one of the best places to buy sausages fresh from the farm, and between them the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (Farma) shops in the North East offer more than 50 flavours ranging from classic pork and beef to sweet chilli and gunpowder (strongly flavoured with black pepper).

All are made with locally-reared meat – helping to keep food miles low – and seasonings, with no additives or cheap cereals to pad them out.

Many North East Farm shops are members of Farma, a recognised guarantee of quality, and for them British Sausage Week has a serious message too.

Chairman Ian Byatt explains: “Sausages can be much maligned but the sausages sold at our farm shops are second to none.

“They are simply made from local meat, often from their own farms, and seasonings with no unnecessary additives or fillings.”

Ian, who runs Moorhouse Farm Shop near Morpeth, says the shop sells up to 600lbs of sausages a week, all made with their own meat, from the farm shop and farmers’ markets and food festivals across the region.

North East Farma members include Blagdon Farm Shop, Northumber- land; Bradley Burn Farm Shop, near Wolsingham; Brocksbushes Farm Shop near Corbridge; Broom House Farm Shop near Durham, Lowfields Farm Shop, Crook; and Moorhouse Farm Shop, near Morpeth.

Chef Larbi Kamouni from cafe bar restaurant Paradiso in Newcastle has created an Italian-inspired sausage for Jesmond delicatessen and cafe, Stewart & Co.

The Paradiso sausage is to be supplied by Stewart & Co’s in-house butchery where all meat is well- sourced and locally-reared.

Larbi, chef and co-owner of Paradiso, said: “The positive feedback we get regarding our dishes inspired me to create a sausage which combines unique flavours that work well together and taste fantastic. The Paradiso sausage is to be sold in both Paradiso and Stewart & Co over the next few weeks.

The great British fry-up is about to get a continental makeover as Bella Italia in Durham launches the “Brit-alian Breakfast Pizza” to mark British Sausage Week.

Believed to be a first for a UK restaurant, the dish combines all you would expect from a hearty Full English but is cooked on a crispy, thin-crust pizza base.

Bella Italia’s Vittorio Lettieri masterminded the dish. He said: “The British love their bangers. They’re as much of a national institution as the Italian pizza so we thought we’d celebrate British Sausage Week by combining the two.”

The pizza features a Lincolnshire sausage, and a generous helping of bacon, mushrooms, eggs and tomatoes served up on the cheese and tomato pizza base.

The “Brit-alian Breakfast Pizza” will be available in Bella Italia from November 2 until the end of the month, while stocks last.