Corsican Sausages

The Corsican coppa, lonzu and figatellu sausages are useful mainstays of my larder and my personal favourites when it comes to rustling up the fastest of meals. Thin slices of dark, moist jigatellu are great with a glass of red wine to keep impromptu guests waiting while I cook something more filling, and an ingredient my kids love as sandwich fillers in last-minute packed lunches. Pale pink, paper-like slivers of lonzu are wonderful in summer, served with melons, apricots or peaches for a speedy starter, and also very good next to pineapple as a different take on the common or garden Hawaiian pizza. The deep-flavoured Corsican coppa has become extremely popular over the past five years or so. In my house, it now makes the cut in the tight choice of ham for a raclette, the ultimate fast feast. The little round slices seem to be just the right size to house the melted cheese and my kids love to build mini edible sculptures with a slice or two of potato before devouring them. I haven’t the guts (or the space) to invest in a meat slicer, but it’s very tempting when you taste the difference between pre-sliced and freshly sliced charcuterie.