SAUSAGES & LENTILS WITH HERB RELISH
Use exactly the size of dish stipulated, so that the lentils and stock cook at the right rate.
SERVES 4
PREPARATION TIME
25 minutes
COOKING TIME
about 1 hour
FOR THE SAUSAGES AND LENTILS
• 1½tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 8 good-quality pork sausages
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• ½ celery stick, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 125g pancetta or bacon lardons
• 500ml chicken stock
• 350ml dry white wine or cider
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 275g Puy lentils
• 2 bay leaves
• Sea salt flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Dijon mustard and crusty bread, to serve
FOR THE RELISH
• 50g soft herb leaves such as flat leaf parsley, basil, mint, chives, or a mix of whatever you have
• 1½tbsp capers, rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• ½tsp Dijon mustard
• Juice
• 1 lemon
• 7tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Heat the olive oil in a 30cm ovenproof sauté pan and brown the sausages all over (you just need to colour them, not cook them through).
2 Lift the sausages out. Add the onion, celery, carrot and pancetta or bacon lardons to the pan and sauté until the bacon is golden. Separately mix the stock and wine or cider together in a jug.
3 Add the garlic and lentils to the pan with the bay leaves and toss with the vegetables, then add 550ml of the stock mixture. Bring to the boil, season, return the sausages, then transfer to the oven.
4 Cook, uncovered, for 15min. Stir and add the rest of the stock mixture, then cover and bake for a final 25-30min. The lentils should be tender and the liquid almost completely absorbed. Taste for seasoning, though the reduced stock, wine and bacon should have made the dish quite salty enough.
5 Make the relish. Either chop the herbs and capers finely and mix with the other ingredients, or whizz everything together in a food processor. Taste for seasoning.
6 Serve the sausages and lentils with the relish. Offer Dijon mustard and crusty bread on the side.