Vegetarian Sausages

I saw a reference to Glamorgan Sausages from Wales that are vegetarian sausages and I was intrigued. Why not try my own hand at vegetarian sausages flavored like breakfast sausage? I love the crispiness of the coating and the flavor—oh, my! If I didn’t know for a fact that there was no meat in these, I would swear they were regular sausages.

I’m already thinking about different things I could do with this recipe. Maybe next time I’ll make patties and skip the coating. Maybe I’ll substitute onion for the leek, changing the spices up with cumin and chipotle and maybe using pepper jack cheese. Maybe Italian with more fennel, parsley, oregano and mozzarella……Stay tuned.

Ingredients (makes about 7 sausages):

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 leek, light green and white part only, coarsely chopped (about 1 ¼ cup chopped)
2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon fresh sage, finely chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried)
½ teaspoon dried ground fennel or fennel seed, lightly crushed with a rolling pin
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of red pepper flake (optional)
1 ½ cups plain breadcrumbs, divided
2 whole eggs plus one egg white
1 cup shredded mild flavored cheese, like Monterey jack or mild cheddar
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)

2 Tablespoons butter, for cooking the sausages

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium low heat. Add the leeks and mushrooms, pepper, sage, fennel, thyme, nutmeg and red pepper and cook about 7 minutes, stirring often, until the leeks are translucent and the mushrooms have given up their water and that water has evaporated, oh about 7 minutes or so. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled leek and mushroom mixture with 1 cup of the breadcrumbs, the whole eggs, the cheese, the salt and the brown sugar and stir well. Grab a handful of the sausage mixture and lightly pack it into your hand. Form into sausage shapes about 3-4 inches long. Don’t make them too long or they will break in half on you-I know that from experience.

In one shallow bowl, whip the egg white with 1 Tablespoon water until frothy. In another bowl, spread out the remaining half cup of breadcrumbs. Carefully and gently (these are delicate at this stage) dip the sausage into the egg white mixture and roll to coat. Let excess drip off and then roll them in the breadcrumbs. Place on a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.

Melt the butter in a large skillet (just wipe out the skillet you cooked the leek mixture in) and add the sausages. Cook over medium low to medium heat until brown on all sides and firm when pressed lightly with the back of a spoon (about 10-12 minutes).