Sausages & Lentils

By jonoandjules on 17 November 2024

We recommend a trip to your local Polski shop for some smoked sausages, plus you'll be able to find lots of other goodies while you're there. Our local one has some very friendly and helpful staff willing to help navigate the differences in sausages... of which they have many.

Wine Suggestion: This dish works well with Spanish reds, especially Tempranillo based ones and the one we enjoyed tonight was the Cantos de Valpiedra from Rioja which we find particlaurly refined and elegant with a gentle undercurrent of warm spices.

Sausages & lentils - serves 6

300g dried Puy lentils
3 tbsp olive oil
600g cooked Polish smoked sausages e.g. Kielbasa
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp thyme leaves, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
400g Swiss chard, stalks cut into 1cm dice, leaves roughly shredded
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp ground cumin
1 litre chicken stock
20g parsley
50g shop-bought crispy onions, to serve (optional)

FOR THE MUSTARD CRÈME FRAÎCHE:

75g crème fraîche
1½ tsp Dijon mustard
1½ tsp wholegrain mustard

Rinse the lentils well, then cover with lots of cold water and set aside.

Mix all the ingredients together for the mustard crème fraîche and put it in the fridge until needed.

Heat ½ tbsp of olive oil in a large casserole, over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add another 2½ tbsp of oil to the pan and add the onion, celery and green pepper. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the vegetables are turning golden. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf and chard stalks and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomato purée and cumin and cook for a further minute.

Drain the lentils and add them to the pan, along with the stock, 1½ tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, covered, until the lentils are cooked through. Use a stick blender to blitz one side of the pot for maximum 30 seconds, to break some of the lentils up. Add the chard leaves and stir them in.

Add the sausages to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the leaves have wilted and the sausages are warmed through. Stir in the parsley and divide between warm bowls. Spoon the crème fraîche on top and the crispy onions if you have them.

(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller & Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2024.)