Recipe: Warm Morteau Sausage

Warm Morteau Sausage With Potato, Carrot and Celery Salad

6 servings

Morteau sausages, from the Franche-Comte region of France, are made of pork in natural casings and have been smoked over pinewood for 48 hours. They are available online from FabriquesDelices.com and EnjoyFoieGras.com.

Locally, sausages made by the New Jersey specialty food company D'Artagnan are available from gourmet grocers. You can substitute American andouille or a cooked garlic sausage in this recipe. Adapted from the forthcoming "Pork & Sons," by Stéphane Reynaud (Phaidon, April 2007).

24 ounces Morteau sausages or other smoked, cooked sausage

6 fingerling potatoes (about 10 ounces; on the large side)

1 medium carrot, peeled and halved lengthwise

1 small celery stalk, cut into very thin 3-inch-long batons

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Scant 1/2 cup olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the sausages in a medium pan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat and cook for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes to the pan; bring back to a low boil, adding more water if necessary, and cook for 20 minutes. Transfer the potatoes and sausages to a cutting board and cut them into 1-inch rounds; set aside.

Use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrot into very thin strips. Combine the carrot, celery and shallot in a medium bowl.

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a measuring cup, then pour about half the dressing over the vegetables and toss lightly to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, divide the potato and sausage rounds among individual plates and top with the vegetable mixture. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette around each plate.

Per serving, with 2 teaspoons vinaigrette: 549 calories, 26 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 44 g fat, 77 mg cholesterol, 14 g saturated fat, 1,736 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber

Recipe tested by Kendra Nichols; e-mail questions tofood@washpost.com