Introduction: The Nested Sausages Recipe.

You decided to throw a dinner for some friends, but now it looks like you run out of time, or maybe you miss some ingredients that you originaly planned to use.

This plate aims to be quick, use simple materials and also surprise your guests. Does this look like a difficult package for a recipe?

Keep reading then and hopefuly by the end you will agree with the description above.

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Nested sausages is a fun, winter time recipe. It combines meat and pasta, with a fatty cream.

This recipe can be accompanied by a green salad and red dry wine.

The concept is to create small balls of tagliatelles, where inside there is a sausage filled with cheese and blood pudding, wrapped in bacon. On top, some cream sauce and cheese will cover everything.

One could visualize the whole plate as a small creature (sausage) in a warm and cozy nest (tagliatelles ball), getting ready for snowfall (cream sauce and cheese).

In the beginning it might take you some time to be quick and effective, but after you do it a couple of times, it should not take you more than 1.5 hours.

Step 1: Ingredients

What you will need: (16 portions)

Time: ~90 minutes.

For the nests

-Sausages : 800 gr (Approximate dimensions = L : 15cm x Diam : 4cm )

-Cheese : 250 gr (Gouda, cheddar, edam or any other melting cheese.)

- Bacon strips : 1 slice per sausage.

-Blood pudding : 100 gr.

-Tagliatelles : 600 gr.

-Oil : 2 tablespoons.

For the cream sauce

- Milk : 400 ml.

-Flour : 3 tablespoons or more on demand.

-Eggs: 2 big ones.

-Butter: 25 gr.

-Salt and pepper.

Utensils

2 small pots

1 big pot

1 oven tray

1 egg beater

1 kitchen spoon/spatula

1 cutting board

Preheated oven at 220 Celsius

Heating mats

-In order to calculate the correct amount of portions you need, one sausage equals 2 portions.

Step 2: Preparing the Sausages and Tagliatelles.

Cut each sausage in half and boil in a small pot for 10 minutes.

Let them strain and cut them longwise.

While working with the sausages, bring a big pot of water to boil and prepare the tagliatelles.
Strain, pour 2 tablespoons of oil and mix up well.

This will not allow them to stick together. Put them aside to cold, so you can work with them later.

Step 3: Cutting the Filling and Wrapping.

Cut small rectangular slices of cheese and blood pudding. Trim them to the same length of the sausages.

Cut the bacon strips longwise. Don't shorten them

Step 4: Make the Sausage Assembly.

Place the cheese and blood pudding on one piece of sausage.

Put the other half on top, creating some sort of sandwich.

Start wrapping around the assembly with the already cut bacon strip.

Step 5: Creating the Nest

The tagliatelles should be cooled by now.

Start by grabbing a small handful of them and start wrapping in the same direction of the bacon.

Then take one more small handful and wrap around the gap, crossing the previous tagliatelle wrap.

At the end a small sphere should be formed.

Step 6: Tray Placement.

Start placing them in the tray.

Keep them as tight as possible (without destroying them of course).

Step 7: Making the Cream Sauce.

Pour the milk in a small pot over low heat and the two eggs.

Start beating them all together. At this point add the butter, salt and pepper.

When the milk starts making foam, retrieve from heat, add 3 tablespoons of flour and keep beating for 1 minute vigorously.

If its not thick enough, put it back on the heat for 2 minutes while stirring so not to stick at the bottom.

Still not thick? Put one more tablespoon of flour and beat vigorously again for 2 minutes away from heat.

Put back over heat for 2 minutes and keep beating

Repeat if necessary.

Step 8: Applying the Cream Sauce and Cheese.

Start pouring slowly the cream over the nests, until they are almost completely glazed.

Then grind the left over cheese, and pour it above the cream.

Apply some pepper if desired.

Preheat the oven in 220 Celsius.

Step 9: Oven Cooking the Nests

When the oven reaches 220 Celsius (top and bottom resistors), place the nests inside. Put the tray in the middle rail of the oven, so to be cooked evenly.

Let them cook for 15 minutes. This will melt the cheese, harden the bacon and unify the ingredients.

After 15 minutes, there should be a light brown color.

Step 10: Dinner Time and Epilogue.

The nests can be easily retrieved from the tray, as they are already shaped up.

Cut around them and lift with a spatula or a kitchen spoon.

One or maybe two, if you are really hungry, are more than enough for one serving.

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EPILOGUE

I hope you will try this recipe and have as much fun as I do every time I make it.

Accompanied with salad, it is a very fullfiling meal that will surely surprise your guests.

Also as the nests are tightly binded and don't have juices (especially if left in fridge overnight), they can also be taken in a tupperware for school lunch, picknik and more.


TIPS

- You don't want the blood pudding? Just use a bigger slice of cheese

-You can omit the bacon, but it will be a bit tricky to wrap the tagliatelles, as the bacon stabilizes the assembly.

-You could use a mix of various cheeses or sausages. Randomize this meal as much as you like.

- You prefer vegetables, or maybe not in the mood for meat today? Replace the sausages with zucchini or eggplant.

-The cream sauce recipe can be used for other recipes too. Feel free to use it as you see fit.

Meat Contest 2016

Participated in the
Meat Contest 2016