This sausage and bean hotpot is crammed full of flavour and nourishment, and will be very welcome time and again over the next few months. There are so many good dinner sausages available now. They tend to have a higher meat content and there is a wonderful range of flavours, from garlic to leeks. Your local butcher probably makes them. We get ours from Martin, our local Blacklion butcher, who makes excellent sausages.

The chorizo adds that nice smoky taste. The cannelloni beans add bulk and I always keep them in stock. Smoked paprika is a favourite spice of mine. I often use it in flavoured butter, or in pesto.

Sweet chilli sauce is very useful for soups, sauces and stir fries. Thai Gold does a nice one that is not too hot. This chicken recipe works just as well with beef, lamb, pork or prawns, so you can vary it as you like.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Sausage and bean hotpot

Serves two to six

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

1 red pepper, cored and finely chopped

1 yellow pepper, cored and finely chopped

2 cooking chorizo sausages

4 butcher-style pork sausages

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

120ml (4fl oz) white wine

400g (14oz) can cherry tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube

400g (14oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 bay leaves

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

sour cream & chives, to serve

  • 1 Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or casserole. Add the onion and cook gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the celery and peppers and sauté for another two minutes.
  • 2 Add the sausages (chorizo and butcher-style) to the pan and fry for about five minutes, turning regularly with a tongs until nicely golden. Stir in the garlic, spices and thyme and continue cooking for one to two minutes, or until the aromas are released.
  • 3 Pour the wine into the sausage mixture and use a wooden spoon to remove any residue stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Crumble in the stock cube and season with salt and pepper. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • 4 Stir the beans into the sausage mixture and simmer for another five minutes or so, until heated through. Season to taste and ladle into wide-rimmed bowls. Add a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle over some chives to serve.

    • Sweet chilli chicken and noodle stir fry

    Serves four

    2 tsp sesame oil

    2 garlic clove, peeled and sliced

    400g packet chicken stir-fry strips

    400g (14oz) medium egg noodles

    75g (3oz) chestnut mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

    2 carrots, thinly sliced

    150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock

    2 tbsp light soy sauce

    3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

    2 spring onions, finely chopped

  • 1 Heat the sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the garlic and chicken, then stir fry for three minutes until the chicken is sealed. Add mushrooms and carrots, then cook for a further five minutes.
  • 2 Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the noodles. Cook for one minute, then drain and add to the chicken and vegetable mixture in the wok, tossing to combine.
  • 3 Add the chicken stock to the mixture with the soy sauce and sweet chilli, and allow to heat through. Divide among warmed bowls and sprinkle with spring onions to serve.