Saturday's allright for Sausages. Salsicce con lenticchie verdi e salsa di pomodoro (sausages and green lentils with tomato salsa)
On Saturday night we had dinner with our good friends David and Cathy. We had been out the night before and were a little 'tired'. The evening called for comfort food and a recipe that was neither too onerous to cook, prepare or shop for.
Lisa had bought some fabulous Italian sausages (three types) from a great Deli in Richmond so we turned to Saint Jamie and his fabulous recipe for sausages, Lentils and salsa Rossa from The Jamie’s Italian book. I also added some red onions cooked in balsamic and red wine (River Cafe)
We began the evening with peppers piedmontese and finished with a glorious pear tart courtesy of Lisa by way of a recipe from River cafe One (blue)
We washed it down with some prosecco to begin the evening and a couple of bottles of Tenute Marchese Antinori 2004 Riserva Chianti Classico which had a couple of hours to breathe in a decanter and was a very nice match for the sausages.
This combo is, as Jamie says, the Italian version of sausage and mash ... I guess in Spain it would be chorizo and Lentejas but which ever one it seems to hit the spot for everyone, young and old.
Obviously the lentils can result in a little bit of duvet elevation but what the hell.
The evening ended when the cab driver that had been waiting tried to forcibly evict them from our house ...ok a bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean.
Ingredients
* 8 medium-sized good-quality Italian sausages, or good fat Cumberlands
* Olive oil
* Juice of 1/2 a lemon
* Extra virgin olive oil
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* A small handful of fresh thyme tips
For the salsa rossa
* Olive oil
* 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
* 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
* 1 small stick of cinnamon
* 1-2 small dried red chillies, crumbled
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus extra for dressing
* 2 400gm cans of good-quality plum tomatoes
For the lentils
* 14 ounces lenticchie di Castelluccio or Puy lentils
* 2 cloves of garlic, peeled (I used 6 cloves)
* 1 bay leaf
* A handful of fresh flat–leaf parsley, leaves chopped, stems reserved
* Red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (I used 3 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar)
Method
1. First things first; get your salsa on the go. Put a little olive oil into a pan, add the onion and sliced garlic, throw in the cinnamon stick and a good crumbling of chilli, and fry on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and sweet. Now turn the heat up and add your red wine vinegar — it will steam and might even make you cough but this is a normal reaction! Then turn the heat down to low and add your canned tomatoes, chopped up. Simmer slowly for half an hour while you get on with your lentils.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the lentils into a pot, cover them with water, and add the 2 whole cloves of garlic, the bay leaf, and some tied-up stems from the parsley. Simmer for around 20 minutes, making sure that you’ve got enough liquid covering the lentils. Toss your sausages in a little olive oil and put them in a roasting pan in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden and crisp. Drop your broccoli into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes when the sausages come out of the oven. When done, drain in a colander and toss in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil.
3. Once the lentils are cooked, remove the parsley stems and bay leaf and pour away most of the water from the pot. Mash the garlic cloves up with a spoon, mix in with the lentils, and dress them using 4 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil and 1 or 2 tablespoons of good vinegar. Throw in all your finely chopped parsley leaves, mix, and season.
4. Remove the sausages from the roasting pan and pour away any fat. Tip the lentils into your serving bowls. Remove the cinnamon stick from the salsa rossa and discard it, then season well to taste and spoon it over your lentils. Place 2 sausages, either sliced or whole, on top. Sprinkle with the thyme and serve with a big bowl of steaming broccoli.
Lisa had bought some fabulous Italian sausages (three types) from a great Deli in Richmond so we turned to Saint Jamie and his fabulous recipe for sausages, Lentils and salsa Rossa from The Jamie’s Italian book. I also added some red onions cooked in balsamic and red wine (River Cafe)
We began the evening with peppers piedmontese and finished with a glorious pear tart courtesy of Lisa by way of a recipe from River cafe One (blue)
We washed it down with some prosecco to begin the evening and a couple of bottles of Tenute Marchese Antinori 2004 Riserva Chianti Classico which had a couple of hours to breathe in a decanter and was a very nice match for the sausages.
This combo is, as Jamie says, the Italian version of sausage and mash ... I guess in Spain it would be chorizo and Lentejas but which ever one it seems to hit the spot for everyone, young and old.
Obviously the lentils can result in a little bit of duvet elevation but what the hell.
The evening ended when the cab driver that had been waiting tried to forcibly evict them from our house ...ok a bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean.
Ingredients
* 8 medium-sized good-quality Italian sausages, or good fat Cumberlands
* Olive oil
* Juice of 1/2 a lemon
* Extra virgin olive oil
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* A small handful of fresh thyme tips
For the salsa rossa
* Olive oil
* 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
* 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
* 1 small stick of cinnamon
* 1-2 small dried red chillies, crumbled
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus extra for dressing
* 2 400gm cans of good-quality plum tomatoes
For the lentils
* 14 ounces lenticchie di Castelluccio or Puy lentils
* 2 cloves of garlic, peeled (I used 6 cloves)
* 1 bay leaf
* A handful of fresh flat–leaf parsley, leaves chopped, stems reserved
* Red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (I used 3 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar)
Method
1. First things first; get your salsa on the go. Put a little olive oil into a pan, add the onion and sliced garlic, throw in the cinnamon stick and a good crumbling of chilli, and fry on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and sweet. Now turn the heat up and add your red wine vinegar — it will steam and might even make you cough but this is a normal reaction! Then turn the heat down to low and add your canned tomatoes, chopped up. Simmer slowly for half an hour while you get on with your lentils.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the lentils into a pot, cover them with water, and add the 2 whole cloves of garlic, the bay leaf, and some tied-up stems from the parsley. Simmer for around 20 minutes, making sure that you’ve got enough liquid covering the lentils. Toss your sausages in a little olive oil and put them in a roasting pan in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden and crisp. Drop your broccoli into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes when the sausages come out of the oven. When done, drain in a colander and toss in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil.
3. Once the lentils are cooked, remove the parsley stems and bay leaf and pour away most of the water from the pot. Mash the garlic cloves up with a spoon, mix in with the lentils, and dress them using 4 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil and 1 or 2 tablespoons of good vinegar. Throw in all your finely chopped parsley leaves, mix, and season.
4. Remove the sausages from the roasting pan and pour away any fat. Tip the lentils into your serving bowls. Remove the cinnamon stick from the salsa rossa and discard it, then season well to taste and spoon it over your lentils. Place 2 sausages, either sliced or whole, on top. Sprinkle with the thyme and serve with a big bowl of steaming broccoli.
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