Early January

It’s the time of year, here in France, when every supermarket has its “foire au porc”, or pork fair; I suppose the little piggies must have gone to market and the result is fridges bursting with various cuts of pork.

Prices are good, it’s the ideal time to make sausages, so I was despatched to buy suitable ingredients. I got home with a whole pork shoulder, weighing 8kg, apples, boudin (black pudding), chorizo, smoked belly pork and of course, skins, which every supermarket sells.

It’s taken the whole afternoon, but we now have probably enough sausage in the freezer to last us the year; pork, apple, onion and sage; pork, boudin, apple, garlic and parsley; pork and smoked belly; and pork, chorizo and tomato. We’ve kept out one of each; Nick’s really looking forward to dinner tonight