Easy Sausage Casserole

Cassolet with Leeks and Chorizo

A cassolet (pronounced cass-o-lay!) is a pork and bean breadcrumb-topped casserole or stew originating from the South of France. Inspired by this, I've created this Easy Sausage Casserole which is ready in just half and hour!

• Time:  15 minutes preparation + 5 minutes grilling
• Cost:  £1.31 per serving
• Calories:  738 per serving

All supermarkets stock a wide variety of good quality yet reasonably priced sausages, so don't even think of buying cheap ones - unless you like to eat trotters, eyeballs and sawdust of course! I use chipolatas in this recipe because being thin they cook really fast.

Serves 4:

• 12 x good quality chipolata sausages
• A little olive oil for frying and for the breadcrumbs.
• 100g sliced choritzo (approx. 8 thin slices)
• 500g / 2 x large leeks
• 2 x 400g cans of either haricot, borlotti, cannellini or butter beans
• 4 x garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 bay leaves
• 500g carton of pasatta
• 2 slices of bread

1. Grill the sausages until cooked under the grill. Cut the chorizo into strips with scissors and fry in a large pan. Slice the leeks and wash well. Crush the garlic and add to the chorizo along with the washed leeks. Add some olive oil to the pan if you need to (the chorizo is quite fatty so you may not need any).
2. When the leeks are just soft (after 3-4 minutes) add around two thirds of the dried herbs, the beans, pasatta and bay leaves. Simmer for around 5 minutes, by this time the sausages should be cooked. Leave the grill on as you will need it a little later on.
3. While the bean mixture is simmering, pop the bread into a food processor and pulse until you have made breadcrumbs. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the remaining herbs. Pulse again until well combined.
4. Pour the bean mixture into an oven proof dish and spread evenly with a spoon. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top. Finally nestle the sausages into the breadcrumbs so they are half exposed. Pop under the hot grill for 5 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden. Serve by itself or with a little mashed potato or green vegetables.

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