Sausage Casserole

Ingredients

• 8 thick pork sausages (about 600g)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 large red pepper, sliced
• 200 g chestnut mushrooms, halved
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 300 ml hot vegetable stock
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 15 g fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
• 1 x 400 g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
• Fine salt

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Pat the sausages dry and season them with a little salt and pepper. Brown them in two batches, 6–8 minutes per batch, turning so they take on a deep mahogany colour all over; don't crowd the pan or they'll boil in their own juices. Lift them out and set aside.
2. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions with a pinch of salt. Sweat them gently for 6–7 minutes until soft, translucent and just catching gold at the edges; you're building the base flavour here, so don't rush it.
3. Stir in the garlic, carrots and red pepper and cook for 3–4 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and pale gold.
4. Add the mushrooms and cook another 3 minutes until they release their juices and start to brown at the edges. The pan should be coated in dark sticky bits; that's flavour, and the tomatoes will lift it in a moment.
5. Stir in the tomato purée and fry for a full minute until it darkens and smells jammy rather than raw. Tip in the chopped tomatoes along with the hot vegetable stock. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom as it comes up to a simmer.
6. Return the sausages and any resting juices to the pan, cover and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes, stirring once or twice so the sausages do not catch. The sauce should thicken to a glossy, coating consistency and the carrots should be tender but still hold their shape.
7. Discard the bay leaf. Taste the sauce and season; the sausages and Worcestershire bring salt, but the beans may still need a pinch. Stir through most of the parsley.