Recipe of the week: sausage, lentil and apple bake by Rosie Reynolds
A warming dish that works all year round – and the leftovers are even better
This is a great all-year-round dish, says Rosie Reynolds: the apples and cider make it beautiful and warming for autumn and winter, but it’s bright enough for spring and summer – when it’s best served with a hearty green salad containing plenty of fennel and more apple. Even if you are only cooking for one or two people, I urge you to make this, as the leftovers are even better.
Ingredients: serves four
- 2 small onions, cut into wedges through the root
- ½ tsp chilli (hot pepper) flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for rubbing
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 good-quality sausages (pork or chicken work well)
- 1 stock cube in 200ml boiling water
- 200ml cider or apple juice
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 apple, cored and sliced
- 250g pouch ready-to-eat Puy lentils
- 1-2 tsp cider vinegar, to taste
- handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
Method
- The Shortcuts: I use a pouch of ready-to-eat lentils, as these are a lifesaver for hearty meals like this when you just don’t have the time or inclination to cook dried lentils. Adding a splash of cider vinegar to apple recipes really brings out their delicious fruity flavour.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C fan (425°F/gas 7).
- Add the onion wedges and chilli flakes to a 30cm x 20cm x 5cm baking tray (pan), drizzle over the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Sit the sausages on top, rubbing each one with a little olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes until golden on top.
- Meanwhile, in a measuring jug, dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water. Add the cider and both of the mustards and stir together to combine.
- Remove the sausage and onion tray from the oven, turn the sausages over and prick with a fork, then return them to their original position (golden-side up). Pour in the stock and cider mixture, add the sliced apple and lentils, give it a gentle stir to combine and cook for a further 25 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning and add a little cider vinegar to brighten and bring out the apple flavour. Scatter with chopped parsley before serving, if you like.
Recipe from The Shortcut Cook All in One: One-Dish Recipes and Ingenious Hacks to Make Faster and Tastier Food by Rosie Reynolds, published by Hardie Grant at £16.99. Photography by Clare Winfield. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £13.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Sign up for the Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for October 26Cartoons Sunday’s editorial cartoons include Young Republicans group chat, Louvre robbery, and more
-
Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
-
Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
Film reviews: A House of Dynamite, After the Hunt, and It Was Just an AccidentFeature A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city, a sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus, and a victim of government terror pursues vengeance
-
Book reviews: ‘Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’ and ‘Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It’Feature Gertrude Stein’s untold story and Jane Leavy’s playbook on how to save baseball
-
Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into ArtFeature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7
-
Music reviews: Olivia Dean, Madi Diaz, and Hannah FrancesFeature “The Art of Loving,” “Fatal Optimist,” and “Nested in Tangles”
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Ready for the apocalypseFeature As anxiety rises about the state of the world, the ranks of preppers are growing—and changing.