Recipes, Sausage Recipes

Val’s Cotechino Recipe with Potatoes & Tunworth Aligot

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Naughty, naughty, very, very naughty — and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Valentine Warner’s Cotechino Recipe with Potatoes & Tunworth Aligot is rich, indulgent, and unapologetically luxurious. This is comfort food dialled up to eleven — melting slices of gelatinous pork sausage, crisped to golden, layered over garlicky mash laced with generous quantities of butter, cream and that famously oozy Tunworth cheese. It’s not for the faint of heart — but for those who eat for joy, this one’s a must.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Method

  1. Leave the cotechino in its vacuum-sealed bag and place it in a pan of water. Simmer gently with the lid on for 90 minutes — the water should barely tremble, no more than a gentle wobble.
  2. Once cooked, allow the sausage to cool completely.
  3. Slice into 2cm-thick rounds, depending on appetite — around four slices per person is ample, especially given the richness of the potato.
  4. Boil the potatoes with the garlic until completely soft, then drain and return to the pan. Mash until smooth.
  5. Add a splash of neutral oil to a frying pan and gently sauté the cotechino slices, turning once until both sides are a rich golden orange. A spatter guard is helpful here — cotechino has a tendency to spit.
  6. Over medium heat, beat the cheese into the mash with the butter using a spoon, finishing with the double cream. Season with a little salt if needed.
  7. You’re aiming for a texture reminiscent of molten mozzarella — stretchy and indulgent. Add a touch more cream if needed, and remember that vigorous stirring helps release the gluey starch from the potatoes.
  8. Divide the cheesy mash between two plates and top with the sizzling cotechino slices.
  9. A glass of red wine is highly recommended — it helps dissolve the richness in all the right ways.

Shop the ingredients

Valentine Warner is a chef, food writer, business owner and broadcaster, with a deep interest in nature, travel and provincial food. He describes his cooking style as ‘International Grandmother’ and combines his strong sense of storytelling with his infectious love of cookery. Val has a deep respect and understanding of ingredients, both wild and cultivated, and has the instinctive ability to rustle up hearty and wholesome meals from whatever’s available. Val is an avid proponent of native food sources, and finds common ground with Swaledale in their work to deliver top-notch meat, within a truthful, ethical and high welfare framework. Originally a trained portrait painter, Val has also authored 5 cookbooks, managed his own catering company and is a co-owner of Taqueria, a West London Mexican cafe. Val is also a partner in the Hepple Distillery in Northumberland and Holmen Lofoten hotel on arctic Norway’s Lofoten island.