This is one of our favorite dishes to throw together at the last minute. The ingredients are basic and readily available. Caveat: authentic Toulouse sausage may be a bit difficult to find. Only one store near me carries it and I make sure to stock up on it and keep some in the freezer for just such occasions. That said, a flavorful sausage like mild Italian or the increasingly popular but spicier North African merguez make for acceptable substitutes, though of course they would change the flavor profile. I recently discovered Greek loukaniko sausage which is about as close to Toulouse sausage as I can find. Sadly, it too is hard to come by unless you live in a Greek neighborhood or have a particularly good specialty grocery store. This recipe is adapted from the Provence The Beautiful Cookbook: authentic recipes from the regions of Provence by Richard Olney. Serves 4.
Ingredients
8 fresh Toulouse sausages
1 leek finely chopped (including the tender green parts)
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice (I prefer Uncle Ben's)
Salt and pepper
Saffron-pinch
3 cups boiling water (or chicken stock; as always, preferably homemade)
Piment d'Espelette, Merquén, or other spicy condiment to taste (optional)
Preparation
Prick the sausages with a fork. In a sauté pan add just enough water to make a film on the bottom. Add the sausages and saute gently for about 10 minutes, browning all sides. They will brown in their own rendered fat. Set aside on a plate. (They will not be fully cooked at this stage. That will happen in the last part of the preparation.)
In the same pan gently sauté the leeks in the sausage fat for about 10 minutes. Add rice, salt, pepper, and saffron. Sauté for additional 5 minutes. Add the boiling water/stock and cover tightly with lid. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove lid and place sausages on top of rice. Replace the lid and cook another 12 minutes or until the rice is done.
Serve with a green salad, French bread and a nice Languedoc wine like Cahors or Minervois. Bon appétit!
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