Sausage and Bean Casserole

Sun 23 Sept 2007

The Observer Food Monthly fell out of yesterday's paper and I told Andy to pick his dinner. Sausage and bean casserole it was. I have to confess, we didn't make our own sausages - an emergency dash to the supermarket procured the outstanding ingredients, and, with a quick detour via the North Bar, I was ready to hit the kitchen.

I don't think two sausage and bean casseroles ever come out the same, but this is last night's interpretation of the Observer's!

Take some chipolata sausages and brown in a heavy based pan. Remove and put aside. Chop an onion (the recipe called for a leek, but we have a lot of onions at home at the moment), a carrot, a stick of celery and a clove of garlic. Sweat this all done and, when starting to soften, add a teaspoon of paprika and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup (yes, you read that right!). Next, add a tin of tomatoes, a tin of cannellini beans (drained and rinsed) about 500 mL of water and return the sausages to the pan. Add a teaspoon of dried thyme (sprigs of fresh preferable, obviously) and bring the mix to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to low and leave for the sauce to thicken for about 45-50 minutes.

When ready to serve, toast some bread and put this in some shallow bowls. Top with the sausage and bean mix and eat!

Perhaps not the most glamorous looking meal ever, but tasty and (if we'd made our own sausages) nutritious!

Using the tinned beans turns this into a quick, store cupboard meal. I found that most time was expended waiting for the mix to come to the boil. After that, I was able to wander off (albeit only to the next room) and leave the pot to tick over until we were ready to eat.

If you plan it right, you should even end up with plenty of leftovers for lunches or emergency mid-week dinners!

tagged with: casserole, stew, sausages

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