MUSETTO E PURÉ

SAUSAGE & MASHED POTATOES

Musetto is a pork cooking sausage made from pork mince, pork rind and meat from the snout, hence its name (‘nose’). It also contains spices. You can bring it back from Venice vacuum-packed. Alternatively you can use cotechino or zampone, which are more widely available (especially precooked and vacuum-packed). Both of these sausages have a similar taste to musetto, and the same gelatinous texture … that I do so love! Obviously, musetto is a winter dish, and it is also used in bollito misto.

SERVES 6 PREPARATION TIME: 45 MINUTES COOKING TIME: 2 HOURS (35 MINUTES WITH PRECOOKED SAUSAGES)

2 fresh musetto sausages, 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) each, or 2 cotechini or zampone

FOR THE MASHED POTATOES

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) roasting potatoes

30 g (1 oz) butter

250–300 ml (9 fl oz–10¹/₂ fl oz/1–1¹/₄ cups) hot milk

Freshly grated nutmeg

For precooked vacuum-packed sausages: Boil in water for 15 minutes in the packaging (check the cooking time on the package).

For fresh sausages: Prick them in several places with a fork to prevent them from bursting during cooking. Place the sausages in a large saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

To make the mashed potatoes: Peel the potatoes, cut them into quarters and steam them for 20 minutes, or until you can easily insert the point of a knife. Alternatively, halve the potatoes and boil in water. Mash them while they’re still hot using a potato masher or ricer. Add the butter in pieces and the hot milk as needed. Season with salt and nutmeg. Mix well until the mash is smooth.

Serve the hot sausage sliced on the mashed potatoes, or use polenta.

RECOMMENDATION

The key to a good mashed potato is to use floury (roasting) potatoes, mash them while they’re still hot so they have the right texture and serve them immediately!

VARIATION

Mash the potatoes roughly and replace the butter and milk with a good-quality olive oil and salt.