They say that you’re obsessed with food when you start coming up with recipes and ideas at night before you go to sleep and this was certainly one of those occasions. In a moment of pure madness (and yet slight genius), I came up with my Sausage Stuffing Bonbons.

Now please bear with me, I struggled to come up with a name for these because “Sausage Balls” is too much of an innuendo for me to handle and especially if I add the word “crunchy” to it (as I did in my first draft)! I ended up calling them Sausage Stuffing Bonbons because they are little balls of sausage meat coated in a breadcrumb stuffing mix and bonbons makes them sound more playful and fun.

The idea first came to me when I wanted to try making my own Scotch eggs which soon turned into making mini Scotch eggs and then becoming Scotch eggs without an egg. Okay they are essentially a meatball however the difference between a standard meatball and my Sausage Stuffing Bonbons is that they are coated in a crunchy breadcrumb coating like a Scotch egg. Then I had a brainwave to use a sage and onion stuffing mix (which is essentially flavoured breadcrumbs) as the coating which compliments the sausage meat amazingly.

This recipe makes a pack of sausages that you get in a supermarket just a bit different with not much effort at all. These would be ideal for a party because they are so simple, cheap, fuss-free and can be made a day ahead (and baked on the day) but they also make a great little snack (if you can stop at having just a few because that stuffing coating makes these totally addictive). If you want to add a bit of extra fun, pop them on a lollipop stick and you have a savoury lollipop!

1lb (454g) Cumberland sausages

2 tbsp plain flour

40g plain flour

1 egg

3 slices of white bread

60g sage and onion stuffing mix

Dips, condiments and sauces, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment.

Squeeze out the sausage meat from the skins into a mixing bowl, adding the 2 tablespoons of plain flour and season well with salt and pepper. Use your hands to combine until it is well mixed. Form 24 balls of the sausage meat and set aside.

Place the plain flour into a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Beat together the eggs in another small bowl. In a food processor, blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and transfer to a large bowl. Then put the stuffing mix into the processor and blitz briefly until it is a fine crumb and then mix with the breadcrumbs.

Roll each ball lightly in the seasoned flour, coat in the beaten egg and then toss through the stuffing breadcrumb mixture. Place the balls onto the baking tray, leaving space in between each one.

Bake the sausage balls for around 20 – 25 minutes until the meat is cooked through and the coating is crisp and golden brown, turning halfway through. Drain the balls on kitchen paper before serving.

Serve warm alongside a variety of dips and condiments such as tomato salsa (as pictured), chutneys or relishes.

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