Luganiga, Luganega, Luganeca, Lucanica

These long thin fresh pork sausages were probably the ancestors of the hot dog. They are made with relatively coarsely minced pork and have a 40 per cent fat content. The minced meat is stuffed into a single piece of gut and sold by the metre, divided into long sausage segments. Such sausages are very common in Italy, especially in the Northern and Central regions where, in winter, they are eaten cooked in a tomato sauce accompanied with polenta. They can also be grilled, fried or braised. The meat can also be extracted from the gut, crumbled and fried as part of the base for a pasta sauce or a risotto. I particularly like them fried with peppers or as in Polenta con Salsiccia.