I’m on the hunt for dishes which are easy to prepare, will fit in with my eating plan and will reheat in a microwave (for lunch the next day). We recently sampled some Bauern Bratwurst which we bought in Germany, they’re really good. Very meaty and with a hint of smokiness which I thought would be perfectly suited to a casserole. With that in mind my next step was to decide what would complement these sausages … what could be better or more traditional than lentils..

As usual this recipe was one of those which evolved as I went along, I was really quite delighted with the results!

SAUSAGE AND LENTIL CASSEROLE

Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS

• 500g Bauern bratwurst (or some other good quality sausage, a vegetarian sausage would work just as well here)
• 2 Medium onions, sliced
• 2 Red peppers, sliced
• 2 Medium carrots, sliced
• 200g Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Red chilli, sliced
• 500ml Passata, sieved tomatoes
• 500ml Water
• 1 Tsp Worcestershire saice
• 240g Washed lentils (which ever kind you like)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tsp Smoked sweet paprika
• 1/2 Tsp Ground cumin
• 1 Tsp Onion powder
• 1 Tbsp Olive oil

PREPARATION

1. Add half of the olive oil to a large pot along with the onions, peppers, carrots, chilli, cover and allow to cook gently until the vegetables are softened but not coloured.
2. Add the remaining oil to a frying pan and saute the sliced sausage until coloured then tip into the pot along with the vegetables.
3. Add the mushrooms, paprika, onion powder, cumin, passata, water, washed lentils and Worcestershire sauce to the stew, mixing well.
4. Bring the stew to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender and the sauce has reached the desired consitency.

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