I have a friend who is addicted to M&S oven-cooked mashed potato. And another who loves it so much that she serves it at dinner parties, passing it off as her own. She thought she’d get away with serving it to Raymond Blanc, but he’s also a fan and caught her out with his first mouthful.

In my early flat-dwelling days, I relied on convenience mashed potato. Smash must have been named by someone with a good sense of humour. It was ready in moments, but I could never make it taste like the real thing. Memories came flooding back the other night when I distractedly put sausages and shallots in the oven, intending to come back “shortly” to make the mash. Instead, when I discovered the sausages ready, I turned to instant polenta, enriching it with butter, Parmesan and spinach, changing the supper in a rather delicious way.

Another favourite way of cooking sausages is in a gratin with cabbage. I discovered the Dutch style years ago in Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book and it’s been a favourite ever since.

It’s easy to pick up decent sausages and I’m always experimenting. My favourite is Duchy Selections old-fashioned pork with herbs. They contain 85 per cent pork and don’t ooze fat, making them perfect for meatballs. I love them with a variation on rosti, when grated raw potato is mixed with mascarpone and fried to a crisp potato mat. This sort of rosti-cum-latke is delicious on its own, but is the perfect base for mushrooms or roast chicken with garlicky parsley butter. It would also be an excellent base for a tart apple sauce topped with black pudding.

Porkers and polenta with roast shallots

Serves 4
Prep: 10min
Cook: 30min
12 pork sausages
2tbsp olive oil
12 shallots
300g spinach leaves
75g butter
4tbsp grated Parmesan
250g Merchant Gourmet 1-minute polenta

METHOD Heat the oven to 375F/190C/gas mark 5 and boil the kettle. Smear sausages with oil and arrange in a roasting pan with unpeeled shallots. Cook, turning halfway through, for 25 minutes or until golden brown and the shallots very soft. Meanwhile, pour boiling water into a pan, return to the boil, add 1tsp salt and the spinach. Boil for a minute. Drain and cool, then squeeze to remove excess water.

When the sausages are ready, remove the skins from the shallots and keep both warm. Pour 1 litre of boiling water into a spacious pan. Add 1/2,tsp salt and return to the boil. Add the polenta in a steady stream, reduce the heat and stir with a long wooden spoon for 1 minute as it thickens. Stir in the butter, Parmesan and spinach. Divide between 4 warmed dinner plates and add 3 sausages and 3 shallots to each.

Sausages in the Dutch style

Serves 4-6
Prep: 20min
Cook: 35min
12 pork sausages
A little lard or oil
1 large Dutch or Savoy cabbage
2 heaped tbsp flour
425ml milk
2 heaped tbsp each grated Parmesan or cheddar, and Gruyère

METHOD Heat the oven to 350F/180C/gas mark 4 and boil the kettle. Prick, then oil the sausages and lay in a roasting tin. Cook for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown all over and cooked through. Drain but save 3tbsp fat. Slice the cabbage and drop into the boiling water with 1tsp of salt. Boil for 1 minute, drain and shake well. Mix sausages and cabbage in a gratin dish and return to oven. Place the 3tbsp fat in a saucepan, stir in the flour and, when smooth, add the milk gradually, stirring constantly.

Simmer gently for about 7 minutes, stirring. The sauce should be very thick. Season and add most of the cheese. Pour over, mixing everything gently. Scatter with the remaining cheese and return to oven. Turn the heat to 425F/220C/gas mark 7 to brown.

Sausage and apple meatballs

Serves 4
Prep: 20min
Cook: 30min
400g Duchy old-fashioned pork sausages with herbs
2 onions or 200g canned Eazy fried onions
6tbsp olive oil 1 Bramley cooking apple, approx 500g
1 lemon
1tbsp smooth Dijon mustard
500g chard, cima di rapa or other leafy brassica
4 medium potatoes, approx 600g
2tbsp mascarpone

METHOD Finely chop the onions. Gently soften and brown in 2tbsp of olive oil for about 8 minutes. Run a sharp knife down the sausages and peel away the skin. Form 4 meatballs from each, rolling between your palms. Drop the sausage balls into the onion, increase the heat slightly and brown. Peel, core and chunk the apple. Toss with lemon juice and add both to meatballs. Season, reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Stir in the mustard into the apple to make a creamy sauce.

To make the rosti, grate unpeeled potatoes on the large hole of a cheese grater and mix with the mascarpone. Divide into 4 mounds. Heat oil in a pan and when very hot, remove from the heat and use a fish slice to quickly spread a mound over the base of the pan. When the underside is brown, flip and cook other side.

Divide the meatball mixture between the 4 plates. Serve with the chard on side plates to avoid making the rosti soggy.

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