It’s tricky to find a staple British food that hasn’t been given a trendy new look these days.

As food producers tempt our tastebuds with new varieties of the same products (mince pie ice cream from Sainsburys anyone?), that most elemental of foods, the sausage, has also been swept up in this tide of change.

No longer the gastronomic equivalent of your dad on the dance floor, contemporary sausages are the must-have item on any shopping list.

New sausage producers are thriving. The Giggly Pig sells thousands of its chilli chocolate, lemon and fennel or Stilton and asparagus sausages each week, at farmers’ markets and online.

It and other specialist companies are helping to challenge the hegemony of mass-produced supermarket sausages with their plastic skins, standardised seasonings and cereal-laden, mechanically-recovered meat fillings.

According to Paul Gayler, author of new book Sausages, buying premium sausages can transform your cooking in an inexpensive and easy way.

“Sausages are one of the great comfort foods, but they’ve come a long way since my childhood,” he writes.

“Once nothing more than a mid-week staple, it’s now taken on ‘designer’ status. There has never been a better time to buy a sausage that will appeal to you, whether you prefer traditional recipes or experimental ones.”

So head to your local supermarket and butchers to find delicious, fresh and frivolous lines, such as Heston Blumenthal’s Duck & Sour Cherry Sausages, plus a burgeoning range of imported sausages (try easy-to-use nduja, an Italian spicy spreadable sausage made with pork) which can be used in a range of dishes.

Here are Gayler’s top five recipes to try…

Turkish meatballs with imam bayaldi and sumac onions

(Serves 4)

8-12 lamb sausages, skin removed

1 medium onion, coarsely grated

2tsp ground cumin

1/2tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp coarsely chopped mint

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the imam bayaldi:

2 aubergines, cut into 2.5cm dice

100ml olive oil

1/2tsp cumin seeds

1/2tsp ground cardamom

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2tsp harissa paste

1tbsp good-quality tomato ketchup

1tbsp sultanas

2tbsp coarsely chopped coriander leaves

For the onion relish:

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

2tbsp coarsely chopped mint leaves, generous sprinkle of sumac

For the meatballs, place the sausage meat in a bowl, add the onion, cumin, cinnamon and mint, and mix together well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least two hours. For the onion relish, put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix together well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

For the imam bayaldi, cook the aubergines in a pan of boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes, or until just soft. Drain well and dry in a clean tea towel. Set aside. Heat the oil over a high heat in a large frying pan, add the cumin and cardamom, and cook for one minute, stirring constantly to release their fragrance.

Add the aubergine and garlic, mix together well and cook, stirring occasionally until golden.

Add the tomatoes, harissa, tomato ketchup and sultanas. Cook for one minute, then remove from the heat, stir in the coriander, and cover with a lid to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat a ribbed griddle over a high heat until hot and slightly smoking. Add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally for 10-15 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Serve immediately with the imam bayaldi and the onion relish.

Breakfast quesadillas

(Serves 4)

300g new potatoes

2tbsp olive oil

6 fresh pork sausages, thinly sliced

8 flour tortillas, each approx 20cm in diameter

4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1/2 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 hard-boiled free-range eggs, coarsely chopped

300g (11oz) Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1cm dice. Put in a pan of lightly salted water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sausage slices and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until cooked and golden.

Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the cooked potatoes to the pan and fry, stirring regularly, until golden.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and leave until cool.

Lay four of the tortillas out on a flat surface. Sprinkle each evenly with all the remaining ingredients. Top with the remaining four tortillas and press down lightly with a plate. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the quesadillas and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden and the cheese has melted. Turn out, cut each quesadilla into four wedges and serve immediately.

Merguez and black bean soup

(Serves 4)

2tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 large head fennel, trimmed and coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1tsp smoked paprika

1/2tsp ground cumin

375g (13oz) turtle beans, soaked overnight in cold water and drained

1 litre chicken stock

Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

150g merguez sausages, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sour cream, to serve (optional)

Torn leaves of flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, fennel and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened.

Add the smoked paprika and cumin, and cook for one minute more, then add the beans and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until the beans are tender, then transfer to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon zest and juice. Return to the pan and keep warm.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the slices of merguez and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sausage is golden and cooked through.

Serve the soup topped with the slices of sausage and with a spoonful of sour cream, if using. Garnish with torn flat-leaf parsley.

Sausage and soft-egg biriyani

(Serves 4)

2tbsp vegetable oil

275g (91/2oz) shallots or onions, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

2.5cm piece of root ginger, finely chopped

200ml natural yoghurt

25g ghee or clarified butter

1tsp whole cumin seeds

10 whole cloves

10 black or green cardamom pods, lightly toasted

2 cinnamon sticks

1 bay leaf

50g sultanas

450g lamb sausages, cut into small pieces

300g good-quality basmati rice, soaked in water for 30 minutes then drained generous pinch of saffron strands or powdered saffron

4 free-range eggs

Salt

Coriander leaves, to garnish

Heat the oil in a high-sided frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the shallots or onions and fry, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to drain thoroughly.

In a mortar, crush the garlic, ginger and yoghurt to a smooth paste. Set aside. Melt the ghee or clarified butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and sultanas, and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the sausage pieces and mix well.

Add the prepared rice and the garlic, ginger and yoghurt paste, together with 500ml of boiling water and one teaspoon of salt. Increase the heat, bring to the boil, stir once and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the rice is almost cooked through.

Meanwhile, mix the saffron in a bowl with three tablespoons of boiling water. Leave to infuse for two minutes, then uncover the rice, drizzle over the saffron water, cover again, then remove from the heat. Leave to stand, covered, for five minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the eggs in simmering water for four minutes, until soft-boiled. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave to cool for one minute before peeling. Uncover the rice, gently fluff up with a fork and transfer to a serving dish or individual plates. Cut the soft-boiled eggs in half. Scatter over the crispy fried shallots, top with the eggs and serve immediately, garnished with fresh coriander.

Sausage parmigiano

8 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

450g luganega sausage, skin removed (or pork chipolatas)

400g tin peeled and chopped plum tomatoes

2tbsp tomato puree

1tsp coarsely chopped oregano

1tbsp coarsely chopped basil leaves

Unsalted butter, for greasing

2 large aubergines, cut into 1cm slices

2 x 125g buffalo mozzarella, thickly sliced

2tbsp finely grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and sausage and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened. Break the sausage up with a fork as it cooks.

Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, oregano and basil, increase the heat and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and pulpy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a high-sided frying pan over a medium heat. Add some of the aubergine slices and fry, turning regularly until golden.

Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to drain. Repeat with the remaining aubergine slices. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly grease a 23cm x 23cm ovenproof baking dish, then spoon in some of the sausage and tomato sauce and add a layer of fried aubergine.

Repeat, alternating sauce and aubergine, until both have been used up. Arrange the mozzarella slices on top, sprinkle over the Parmesan and place in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbling.

Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Meaty tips

• For a truly unique sausage, try Heston Blumenthal’s Duck & Sour Cherry Sausages (£2.99, www.waitrose.com), made with minced duck leg and semi-dried sour cherries cut with ground pepper, nutmeg and ginger.
• Nduja is a ready-to-eat, spreadable spicy sausage, unique to Calabria in Southern Italy, which costs £2.19. Buy from www.discoverunearthed.com or Waitrose supermarkets.
• Try Asda’s Extra Special Sausages BBQ Chorizo, produced in Spain’s Cataluna region by third generation sausage makers and made from an authentic recipe with paprika and garlic seasoning, priced £2.58.

• Sausages by Paul Gayler is published by Jacqui Small, priced £20