Cashew and chestnut bangers

It’s barbecue season! These sausages are perfect. They’re filling and substantial, just like meat, but are a much healthier way of getting your protein fix. Nuts are naturally cholesterol-free and contain heart-healthy fats, fibre, and protein.

Yes, it is a bit of a faff to make your own sausages. If these didn’t taste so nice, I wouldn’t bother. What clinches it for me is the fact that I get two meals (or sometimes more) out of this recipe, by freezing half of them. They freeze well and I feel wonderfully smug when I pull my home made bangers out of the freezer a few weeks later.

In France it is now against the law to use meat-based words like sausage to describe vegetarian food. This was at the request of the meat industry, who I guess are feeling threatened by the rising tide of vegetarianism. They may have a point. When I eat these, it’s not because I wish I could have a sausage. They’re just nice. Research shows that eating more nuts can lower your risk for cardiovascular disease, and chestnuts are a low glycemic food full of vitamin C. There are no health benefits to eating pork sausages (unless you throw one at an armed assailant and get him in the eye. This has never happened to me, but I live in hope and still eat the occasional pork sausage.)

A word about tofu. The more I read, the more confused I am. Many people consider it to be a health food (it’s nutrient dense and full of vitamins) but others say that all soy products, including tofu, should be avoided unless they are fermented. But I don’t drink soy milk, and I hardly ever eat tofu, so I figure what harm can it do? It works in this recipe. I want a sausage to be high in protein so it fills me up without sapping my energy. Thanks to the tofu and the nuts, these are.