Sausages with lentils and chorizo

This dish is wonderfully nourishing and cheering for a chilly night, and using
the best sausages, pancetta and chorizo you can afford will really make a
difference to the flavour. Serve with some lovely crusty bread and a crisp
green salad or some sauteed Swiss Chard

Makes 4 portions

• olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 8 large sausages
• 200g (7oz) cooking chorizo sausage,
• skinned and cut into 5mm (¼-inch) cubes
• 100g (3½oz) pancetta or bacon, diced
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 200g (7oz) dried Puy lentils, well rinsed
• and drained
• 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes or 500g
• (1lb 2oz) passata
• 250ml (9fl oz) red wine
• 500–600ml (18–20fl oz) water
• 1–2 fresh bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• wilted Swiss chard, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (425°F), Gas Mark 7.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy-based pan with a lid over a low heat. Add a good glug of olive oil and then the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and sweat for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
3. Lay the sausages on a baking tray and pierce each one a couple of times with a fork. Bake for 20–30 minutes or until browned.
4. Meanwhile, add the chorizo and pancetta or bacon to the onion and garlic, turn the heat up and cook until the meat starts to brown, stirring constantly, then add the smoked paprika.
5. Stir the lentils into the pan, pour in the tomatoes or passata, wine and 500ml (18fl oz) of the measured water and add the bay leaf or leaves and some salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
6. Put the lid on the pan, reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add the browned sausages, replace the lid and continue to simmer gently for a further 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through, adding the remaining water as necessary to avoid the mixture becoming too dry. Remove and discard the bay leaf or leaves.
8. If eating now, season to taste and serve with sautéed Swiss chard, if you like.

This recipe and many others come from our book Freeze, super-nourishing meals to batch cook, freeze and eat on demand. Published by Mitchell Beazley in 2021