Sausage cobbler recipe

This classic sausage cobbler recipe is topped with homemade savoury scones. A great dinner treat for autumn and winter - perfect, easy comfort food at its finest.

This budget meal is made with tender sausages, cider infused stock and heaps of freshly prepared carrots. The onions gives the rich sauce a delicious, tangy flavour which works wonders with the sausage meat. This sausage and pork cobbler is taken from a classic 1974 Woman's Weekly recipe. This recipe serves 4-6 people and will take around 1hr and 25 mins to prepare and cook.

Ingredients

• 6 good-sized sausages
• 125g (4oz) belly or shoulder of pork, rind and any bones removed, chopped into 6 or 8 pieces
• 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 level tbsp plain flour
• 150ml (¼ pint) cider
• 300ml (½ pint) hot chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the topping

:

• 250g (8oz) self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 level tsp dried sage
• 45g (1½oz) butter
• 150ml (¼ pint) milk

1.25 litre (2 pint) pie dish

• 6.5cm (2½in) plain cutter

Method

1. Fry the sausages and pork in a frying pan over a very low heat for 15 mins until they are golden brown. Use a draining spoon to put them into the dish.
2. Set the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Add the onion and carrot to the fat in the pan and fry over a low heat for about 10 mins until softened.
3. Stir in flour and mix well. Take pan off heat and gradually blend in the cider and stock. Put pan back on the heat, stirring all time, to make a sauce. Check the seasoning and pour the sauce over the pork and sausages.
4. To make the topping: Mix the flour, salt and sage in a bowl. Rub in the butter, then mix in enough milk to make a fairly soft dough and turn it out on to a lightly floured work surface.
5. Roll the dough out to just under 1.5cm (½in) thick and cut out 8 scones with the cutter. Place them on top of sausage mixture and bake for 30 mins until the scones are golden and well-risen.