Cypriot Style Sausage and Beans

Much the favourite of us Brits, this is a slightly more healthy, nutritious option as opposed to the cholesterol induced porkies of Great Britain!  Bumbar, is simply put lamb’s intestines stuffed with a dolma like mixture.  Once roasted, it tastes delicious and can be served with salad or kuru fasulye, as I have here this week.  This is a fantastic dish, full of flavour and delicious with lots of crusty bread.  Afiyet olsun.

For the Bumbar you will need:

About 1kg or just over of Minced meat

1 large onion, finely chopped

Half a bunch of parsley

4 medium sized, vine ripened tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and finely chopped (you could use a can if need be)

Some butter or olive oil

2 cups (approx. 300g) rice, American long grain is good

Juice of 1 lemon

300g of tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

3 or 4 Bumbar (lamb’s intestines)

Vinegar, salt and lemon juice to wash the bumbar before use

Preparation:

First of all, and most importantly, you need to wash the intestines.  This can be a long, arduous process but well worth it.  I left mine to soak overnight in cold water and vinegar.  Then I turned the intestines inside out and gave it a thorough rinse in cold water.  I washed it well to try and eradicate the unusual smell it has.  Once you have washed it, leave it in cold water and lemon juice until you are ready to use.

Make up your filling for the intestines by combining the mince, chopped onion, rice, parsley, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, juice of 1 lemon and salt and pepper.  Make sure all the ingredients are well combined.

Now, fill each intestine one at a time.  First, tie one end with some thick string suitable for cooking.  Then, using your hands or a piping bag (I used a piping bag as I found it a lot easier), fill the intestines, pushing down the mince to the other end to make sure the intestine is nice and full.  Once it is full up, tie the other end with some more string and then tie the middle of the sausage as well.  This will stop the mixture from sliding around inside and also keep the sausage nice and firm.

Once all the intestines you have are full and tied up, put them in a large pot.  Cover with hot water and allow to boil on a medium heat for approximately 45 minutes to tenderise the intestines and cook the filling.  When the sausage begins to look transparent and the filling has expanded then it is almost cooked.  Pre heat your oven to gas mark 6/180*C.  Put some butter or olive oil in a large roasting pan and put in the oven for a couple of minutes for the butter or oil to heat up.  Remove from the oven and put all the sausages in the hot oil.  Baste the sausages then put in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, turning the sausages once, to make sure they are cooked on both sides.  When they are browned, they are ready.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.  Serve with salad and some lemon to squeeze on top.  Afiyet olsun.

For the Kuru Fasulye, you will need:

500g pack of dried white kidney beans or cannellini beans

1 tbsp of tomato puree

1 onion, finely chopped

Oil for frying, sunflower or olive is fine

Salt and pepper to taste

Half a tsp of sugar, molasses if you have it

Boiling water for cooking

Optional: Celery or Red meat – lamb or mutton, cubed

Preparation:

Place the beans in a bowl of cold water and leave to stand overnight (at least 8-12 hours).

Rinse the beans in cold water and then boil for approximately 10 minutes prior to cooking.  Drain the beans and then re-boil in some fresh water again but this time as soon as it comes to the boil turn off and set aside still in its water until you have prepared your tomato sauce.  (You probably wont need more than 1 and a half litres of water.  Don’t use too much, you don’t want to drown the beans.)

Finely chop and fry 1 large onion in some oil until the onions are softened.  Add 1 tbsp of tomato puree and mix together.  Now add the beans and water that you boiled earlier with the onion and tomato and mix all together.  Season with salt and pepper, half a tsp of sugar and cook over a very low heat for approximately 2 hours until the beans are tender.    If desired you can add some sliced celery about half an hour before the end of cooking.