Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade

• 2 cups finely ground cornmeal (or polenta if it’s not available)
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 tsp of finely chopped garlic chive. (If you don’t have garlic chive, use normal garlic, but only 1/2 tsp)
• 1 tsp Cajun spice powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 4 smoked pork sausages or normal pork sausages of you can’t find the smoked version
• 1/2 punnet baby cherry tomatoes, red and yellow chopped in quarters
• 1 bunch spring onions finely chopped
• 1/2 bunch parsley finely chopped
• 1 cup of finely grated cheese
• Salt and black pepper for seasoning

On medium heat, melt the butter in a heavy saucepan.

Add the cornmeal or polenta, stirring through the butter. Add the boiling water, and with a wire whisk, quickly start whipping the mixture to remove any lumps. Add a touch more water if the mixture become too thick to whisk. You want a thick, heavy consistency, but it should still be able to bubble–a bit like lava!

Keep the heat to a medium low and let this cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, the Cajun spice and the dried oregano. Season with salt and black pepper.

Grease a small baking tray with olive oil. (I used my 27″ x 18″ pan.)

Spoon the cornmeal mixture into the tin and push out to the edges. You should have quite a thick consistency. Set aside.

Now half cook the sausages by shallow frying them lightly in some oil. It’s important to leave them half-cooked, as they will finish cooking in the oven. Cut in half lengthwise and chop into small pieces.

Top up with chopped cherry tomatoes, parsley and spring onions. Finally, add the cheese and bake in the hot oven for 25 minutes or until the top is a golden brown. Slice and serve up with some good HP sauce and a steaming mug of tea!

I’ll share my recipe for scrumptious scones and topping over the weekend, so watch for more!