Sausage and Puy Lentil Casserole

These past few weeks I have to admit that I've been feeling more than a little pleased with myself. Whilst the rest of the nation has been recoiling in horror in the discovery that it’s been gleefully consuming unknown quantities of equine off cuts, as direct result of its lust for cheap convenient gastronomic banality, I've been tucking into food that, I have,  as always, cooked from scratch I know exactly how much Dobbin is in my lasagne.

So with that self indulgent “I told you so” opening you’d wonder why I'm eulogising about sausages. Of all the food stuffs they’re the worst aren't they? Full of sawdust, pig’s knuckles and cows face surely. Well, that depends on which sausages you buy. 50 “pork” sausages for £1 then really you can’t complain about the odd bit of kneecap. However if you spend the extra cash on some quality sausages you can still make a satisfying, tasty and in these early parts of the year a  welcome, warming and comforting dish.

I've been trying to perfect the ultimate sausage casserole, using beans etc . but with these meaty Puy lentils, I think I've cracked it

What’s more this is so cheap to make, OK it assumes you have some of the stuff already in , even if you don’t the initial outlay isn't that great

This really does make a satisfying, tasty and warming dish, perfect for this time of year

Sausage and Lentil Casserole - Feeds 6

Total cost (Based on having most of the ingredients in, otherwise the initial outlay will be greater) = £9.27 or £1.55 per Serving, add about another £0.50 per serving if having mash.

Ingredients

12 Good quality Pork Sausages (£5.00)

1 Large Onion Sliced (if halving the recipe use one medium size onion) (£0.35)

2 Cloves of Garlic Finely Chopped (£0.06)

2 Medium Sized Carrots Diced (£0.20)

1 Tsp Cumin Seeds (£0.05)

1 Tablespoon of Tomato Puree (£0.05)

1 400g Tin of Tomatoes (£1.23)

1 Splash of white wine (£0.50)

6 Juniper Berries (Not essential but do add depth of flavour) (£0.25)
1 Apple peeled and finely chopped 

175g Puy Lentils (£0.93)

1 Litre Of Chicken Stock (£0.30)

1 Small Pinch of Chilli Flakes

Fresh Herbs such as Thyme, Parsley and Bay Leaf, Tied together in a bundle (£0.40)

1 Tablespoon of Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Equipment

1 Large Flame proof Casserole Dish

1 Pestle and Mortar

Method

Pre-Heat the oven to 160 degrees

On the hob heat the oil in the casserole dish and then fry the sausages so that they are brown all over, you may have to do this in batches

In a separate pan toast the cumin seeds and the crush to a powder using a pestle and mortar

Once brown, remove the sausages and add the onions to the Pan, Season and fry until soft. The onions should take on the colour and flavour from the sausages

Add the garlic fry for one min, then add the tomato puree and cook out, for 2-3 mins

Next add the carrots, apple and cumin then gently fry for 5 mins

Turn up the heat, add the wine and de-glaze the casserole dish

Reduce the wine, add the lentils and fry, stirring continuously until the lentils are well coated

Add the tomatoes, stock, chilli flakes and juniper berries. Stir until well combined

Bring to the boil, return the sausages, add the herb bundle, cover and place in the oven for around 2 hours

Every 30 mins or so stir through and check the liquid, the lentils may soak up a lot of it so add more water if required and stir through before returning to the oven

The thickness is up to you, I prefer it to have a thick gravy like consistency rather than the thick porridge consistency you can get with lentils.

Serve on its own or with mash, or bread.