Italian Sausage and Red Lentil Stew

Anyone who knows me knows that I love food from countries starting with the letter 'I' - India, Italy and Indonesia (Ireland, you have yet to prove yourself to me.) So here is a recipe for a gorgeously fragrant, simple and hearty Italian sausage stew.



Italian Sausage and Red Lentil Stew
(Serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
8 Italian pork sausages
1 large onion, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 tspn toasted and crushed fennel seeds
5 sprigs of rosemary
1 tin of diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup red wine
2 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
120g red lentils

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and brown the sausages (they don't need to be cooked through). Remove them from the pan then gently saute the onion and celery for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, fennel seeds and rosemary and saute for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, red wine, stock and some freshly cracked black pepper and bring the sauce to a boil. Add the lentils and stir the mixture well. Return the sausages, turn the heat right down to low, cover then leave the stew to cook for one hour. Stir it often to make sure the lentils don't stick to the bottom of the saucepan. If the lentils look like they're drying out, add a touch of water.

Remove the sprigs of rosemary then serve the stew with fresh crusty bread and a simple green salad.

Penne with a Spicy Sausage and Tomato Sauce

WANTED: A simple child-friendly mid-week meal that doesn't involve toast soldiers.

Consider it delivered!



Penne with a Spicy Sausage and Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

Olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g tins of crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup of white or red wine (if you feel like it!)
3/4 cup chicken stock
6-8 Italian sausages, skins removed
1-2 tbsp chopped basil
350g penne

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan and gently saute the onion until it is soft. Add the garlic and let it cook for a minute.

Add the tomatoes, wine and stock and bring to the boil. Break the sausages into small chunks as you add them to the pan. Cover and leave the mixture to simmer over a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile, boil the penne until it is al dente. Drain, then add to the sauce and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, mix in the basil then serve straight away with a little parmesan sprinkled on top.

Maple Sausages with Mustard Mash

This is a quick and easy snag recipe from my Delicious: 5 Nights A Week cookbook (available from http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/).

The maple sauce makes the sausages sticky sweet - but make sure you use real maple syrup, not the cheaper maple flavoured syrup. The onions caramelize and become soft as butter. And to mop up all that maple sweetness is lovely, fluffy, buttery, mashed potato given a lift by adding in seeded mustard.

This recipe is so quick and easy and guaranteed to be a winner with the kids.

Get the recipe here: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/3595/maple+snags+with+mustard+mash or consider buying the Delicious cookbook if you love leafing through recipes which are perfect for an easy mid-week meal.