SIZZLING SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

A great family dish, this is a nod to French cassoulet with white beans and good-quality sausages.

Serves 4

Vegetable oil, for cooking

150g (5½oz) smoked streaky bacon lardons 8 good-quality sausages, such as Lincolnshire or Cumberland

1 onion, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1 celery stick, diced

2 x 400g (14oz) tins of white beans, borlotti beans or butter beans, drained and rinsed 100ml (3½fl oz) white wine vinegar

1tbsp caster sugar 100ml (3½fl oz) white wine

2 bay leaves

350ml (12fl oz) chicken stock

1 small Savoy cabbage, core discarded, inner leaves thinly sliced 2 slices of white bread, made into fine breadcrumbs (see tip) Zest of 1 lemon

50ml (2fl oz) olive oil Heat up a large sauté or frying pan over a medium heat. Pour in enough vegetable oil to cover the base of the pan in a thin layer. Add the bacon lardons and cook, stirring occasionally until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crispy and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

Place the sausages in the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the sausages have a good colour. Remove them from the pan and set aside with the bacon.

Tip the diced onion,

garlic, carrot and celery into the pan and sweat down for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the drained beans, then pour in the vinegar and the sugar and cook over a high heat for about 5 minutes until reduced to a glaze.

Preheat the grill to hot. Add the white wine, bay leaves and chicken stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Return the bacon and sausages to the pan and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and thickened. Stir in the sliced cabbage leaves.

Pour the casserole into a heatproof dish. In a small bowl combine the breadcrumbs and lemon zest and scatter this mixture over the top. Drizzle the olive oil over and grill the casserole until toasted and golden.

TOM’S TIP

To make your own breadcrumbs, cut the crusts off a few slices of slightly stale bread and discard. Tear the bread into small pieces, add to a food processor and whizz for a minute or so.