Braised Sausages and Lentils – loosely based on Emily Watkins

 

8 good sausages

1 onion (red?)

1 smallish carrot

1 stick celery

6 sundried tomatoes

100gms Puy lentils

50gms red lentils, which will break down and thicken the liquids

chicken stock and a very little olive oil

bay leaf or two

2 glasses of good red or white wine

 

Preheat the oven to 160c.  Fry the sausages in a smear of olive oil till browned all over and remove.  Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery (very finely) and cook gently in the same pan (she adds paprika, without saying if sweet or hot.  I’m not sure).  Add the lentils and turn up the heat.  At this point, we digress.  She adds masses of tomatoes, and gets them to cook down, say 10 minutes.  I think I’d add a glass of wine (the second glass goes into the cook), let it bubble, add the chopped sundried tomatoes or a smidge of tomato paste, bay leaves (or thyme) reduce to about 2/3rds and add chicken stock and the sausages.  She cooks the dish on a burner for an hour or so, I think I’d lightly cover with foil and cook in the oven, and check after ½ an hour if it needed more heat or more liquid.

 

I tried it my way in the oven and it worked well.  You need to watch the level of the liquid.