Stunning Spiced Sausage Stew

Hapus Dydd Gŵyl Dewi or Happy St David’s Day as they say over the boarder! I’ve also got to give a big shout out to the Famous Graham, my long suffering brother-in-law and inspiration behind Graham’s Caramelised Red Onion and Goats Cheese Tart! I have no doubt Graham will have another wheelie good feature before too long but for now Happy birthday and have a great one, being married to my sister and being Alice’s’ dad you deserve it lol! Ok so there’s nothing Welsh from me today… yet!! Bu the sausages in this recipe are Welsh, it’s always a bonus, and we won yesterday which was a damn Skippy result!

So here we go, ingredients and equipment are pictured below. Not all the ingredients are shown on the pictures but download the list and you’ll see what you need.

You’ll all remember the “Schwartz” Cajun Sausage and Butterbean Stew I created some time ago, this is an interpretation on it… one big thing though, there’s no flipping butterbeans! It’s another warm winter dish and could well become a classic in my household (well with my mother and I anyway). Key to this recipe is time, take your time cooking it to build the flavours, it’s a comforting dish full of flavour, you will really enjoy it. Serve this with rice, mashed potatoes or rice.

Ok, where to start, well chop the onions in half and then into slices, cut the carrots into circular medallion shapes. Once you’ve done that take the garlic cloves and cop them up finely – measure out the ‘erbs and spices (I’ve dropped the ‘h’ to the annoyance of those close to me) and set them aside.

The picture above shows the three meat related steps to preparing the casserole. You need to cook the lardons in the oil (don’t use as much oil as I have – I was a bit heavy handed)! Once you’ve browned the lardons transfer them to the casserole dish and add the sausages and brown them. The sausages in the pictures above have been skinned, I hate, no wait did I say hate I feckin’ detest sausage skin, so I get rid of it at any given opportunity. Brown the sausages off and then add them to the casserole dish with the lardons.

This is the fun bit… flavour building, take time it’s worth it, I haven’t rushed this dish so not sure what it’ll taste like but honestly it’s brilliant so take your time. Once you’ve transferred the sausages and lardons to the casserole dish, add the onions and garlic to the frying pan and cook slowly until they’ve softened. Then add the carrots and cook slowly, as you’re going to cook this in the oven you don’t need to cook it for long, just allow it to soften. Once you’ve cooked everything add the herbs and spices and stir thoroughly to allow all the flavours to cwtch up with each other and become friends. You should take your time at this point , raw spices are not nice to eat!

Now flavour wise, if you’re talking about disability, then disability sports comes to mind! At the moment we have a national athlete with disabilities in our pan…. with the step above we’ll have the making of a Paralympian! Add the Tomato Purée and stir thoroughly, you need to cook this out because of the acidity in it it’s good to leave it cook.

Now hear this, now hear this, this is where the gold medallist of the Paralympian world comes in! It’s flavour time! After the Tomato Purée has cooked out add the tinned tomatoes and stir thoroughly give that time for all the flavours to meld. Next you’ll need to add the stock cubes – make sure you crush them up thoroughly and then stir it thorough. The add as much water as you want, in the recipe I say to add a pint of water/stock – that’s up to you! You all know I like a sauce/liquid with my food so I probably added a pint and a half but you add what feels right to you.

Ok now we’re at the end of the process, well… nearly! Place the frying pan contents into the casserole dish with the sausages and the bacon lardons, cook in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until you are happy that everything is cooked thoroughly. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes mixed with finely chopped spring onions.

Remember if you want to cook this recipe you can download the step-by-step instructions hereNext week we’ll have a review for Time-Saving Tuesdays and a recipe later on in the week. Happy St David’s Day to all my friends and family, Welsh or not, happy birthday Graham and I hope everyone enjoyed the rugby yesterday!