Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 ¾ pounds mealy (baking) potatoes
2/3 cup slightly salted butter
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 onions, sliced
generous ½ cup chopped fresh pork belly or lightly cured slab bacon
scant 1 cup shelled hazelnuts
1 bunch of fresh tarragon, chopped
1¾ pounds blood sausage*
2 slices of toast, crumbled
salt and pepper

Instructions:
Cook the potatoes in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water for 15-20 minutes, until tender.  Drain well, mash with a fork, and beat in the butter and nutmeg.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan.  Add the onions and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until very soft.  Stir in the pork belly and hazelnuts and cook, stirring frequently, until browned.  Add the tarragon. 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF

Remove the skin from the blood sausage and cut it into ½-inch slices.  Cook in a skillet, turning occasionally, until caramelized. 

Place half the mashed potatoes in a gratin dish and cover with all the onions.  Place the blood sausage slices on top and cover with the remaining mashed potatoes. 

Sprinkle with the toast crumbs and bake in the oven until the topping is golden brown. 

*Blood Sausage
Blood sausage is also known as boudin noir, blood pudding or black sausage.  It is usually sold pre-cooked.  In Louisiana it is also called boudin rouge.  You can also buy Spanish or Argentinian morcilla or German blutwurst.  What you really want is fully cooked Pyrenees-style blood sausage.

Copyright © 2007 by Stéphane Reynaud. All rights reserved.