Glamorgan Sausages

Welsh meatless sausages of Caerphilly, breadcrumbs, and leek, crisp outside and molten within

Origin: Glamorgan, Wales

From the journey of Leek.

These are sausages in shape and in nothing else, and they predate the modern vegetarian sausage by a century and a half. Selsig Morgannwg are made of cheese, breadcrumbs, and leek, bound with egg and mustard, rolled into fingers, crumbed, and fried. George Borrow ate them at Newport in 1854 whilst walking across Wales for the book that became Wild Wales, and pronounced them better than any pork sausage he had eaten, which is the earliest well-known notice of them. They were not invented as a substitute for meat but as a thing worth eating in a country with a great deal of cheese, a great many leeks, and not much spare money. The cheese should be Caerphilly, and the choice is not sentimental. Caerphilly is a young, crumbly, faintly lactic cheese with a high moisture content and a low melting point, which means it softens into the crumb rather than running out of it, and its slight sourness sits against the sweetness of the cooked leek. A hard mature cheddar behaves quite differently: it oils out, the mixture splits, and the sausages fall apart in the pan. The leek has to be cooked first and cooled. Raw leek in the mixture releases water as it fries, which loosens the bind and is the single commonest reason a batch collapses. They are eaten hot with chutney or a sharp tomato relish, and cold the next day, and they have become a fixture of Saint David's Day tables well beyond Glamorgan.

Ingredients

Filling

2 whole large leeks, about 300 g, split, washed, and finely sliced
30 g butter
200 g Caerphilly cheese, coarsely grated
150 g fresh white breadcrumbs
2 tsp English mustard
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Binding

2 whole egg yolks

Coating

2 whole egg whites, lightly beaten
100 g dried breadcrumbs, for coating

Frying

4 tbsp neutral oil, for frying
20 g butter, for frying

Method

Melt the butter in a pan and sweat the sliced leeks over a low heat for eight to ten minutes until completely soft but not coloured.
Spread the cooked leeks on a plate and cool completely.
Mix the cooled leeks with the grated Caerphilly, fresh breadcrumbs, mustard, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Work in the egg yolks with your hands until the mixture just holds together when squeezed. Add a splash of milk only if it will not come together.
Divide into eight and roll each portion into a sausage about 8 cm long, pressing firmly.
Chill the shaped sausages for at least thirty minutes.
Roll each sausage in beaten egg white and then in the dried breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs on to cover completely.
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat and fry the sausages for six to eight minutes, turning carefully, until golden all over.
Drain briefly on kitchen paper and serve hot, with chutney or a sharp tomato relish.

Notes

Caerphilly is what the recipe was built around and is worth seeking out. Wensleydale or a young Lancashire behave similarly. Mature cheddar does not: it oils out and the mixture splits. Fresh breadcrumbs in the mixture and dried ones for the coating are two different jobs. Do not use dried in the mixture; it will be sandy. They can be shaped a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, which improves them. Baking is possible at 200°C for 20 minutes, turning once, and gives a drier and less good result. Frying is worth the trouble. Serve with a tomato and onion chutney, a green salad, and boiled new potatoes. They are also excellent cold in a sandwich with pickle.

The Gastrographer

Name: Glamorgan Sausages
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Wales
Ingredients: 2 whole large leeks, about 300 g, split, washed, and finely sliced; 30 g butter; 200 g Caerphilly cheese, coarsely grated; 150 g fresh white breadcrumbs; 2 tsp English mustard; 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves; 0.5 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 2 whole egg yolks; 2 whole egg whites, lightly beaten; 100 g dried breadcrumbs, for coating; 4 tbsp neutral oil, for frying; 20 g butter, for frying

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control