Sausage casserole

I made this a couple of evenings ago when it was a bit chilly. I used four giant sausages from Jack O’Shea’s, and they worked brilliantly. This is based on a BBC Good Food Hairy Bikers recipe.

Sausage and beans

For four people, you’ll need:

A little oil

4 of Jack O’Shea’s large sausages, or two or three normal sized ones per person (depending on how hungry or greedy you are)

1 medium sized onion, sliced into eighths.

A few garlic cloves, crushed

Some chilli or smoked paprika

A tin of tomatoes

A small tin of tomato puree

200ml of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of Worchester sauce

a little thyme

salt and pepper

A teaspoon of brown sugar

a tin of beans like cannellini or white beans, or if you’ve none of these, a tin of lentils

To serve: crusty bread or some mashed potatoes

In a heavy casserole dish, heat enough oil to coat the base. Your sausages will release some fat as they cook, so you only need enough to prevent them from sticking in the initial cooking. Cook your sausages for a few minutes on each side to colour them.

Take the sausages out and add a little more oil to the dish. Cook the onions over a medium heat for about 4-5 minutes until they soften slightly.  Add the crushed garlic and cook that off too.

Pop the sausages back in, along with a sprinkle of chilli or paprika, the tomatoes and the chicken stock.

Add in all the herbs and seasoning, stir well and cover. Leave it to simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your sausages. Add the drained beans in about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding a stock cube, some chopped anchovies or more salt and pepper if you need to. If it is very thick, add a little more water.

Serve it with some mashed potatoes or bread.

If you’re uber hungry, you could also add a packet of lardons with the tomatoes.