Autumn Delights: Sausage Cassoulet

Autumn is officially here! The nights are drawing in and the temperatures have started to drop and we can’t wait to spend cosy evenings at home with friends playing games. Thanks to Fodder & Plonk this really easy Cassoulet (French version of a slow-cooked casserole) is the perfect dish to feed lots of hungry mouths:

Ingredients
Serves 6-8

Oven temp 180C

6 chipolatas
6 Venison Sausages
6 Farmhouse Pork Sausages
200g Streaky Bacon
2 carrots
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 stick of celery
5 sage leaves
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of chopped tomatoes
A good glug of port or red wine
150ml chicken stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Stale ciabatta bread

Method

1. Fry the sausages in a pan until browned on all sides. Remove and place in a roasting tray. Cut the bacon into lardons and fry in the same pan, until golden and slightly crispy. Remove and add to the roasting tray.

2. Peel and chop the onion, carrots and celery. Peel and crush the garlic. Fry in the frying pan on a medium heat, along with the juices from the sausages and bacon, until soft. Add to the roasting tray.

3. Add the herbs to the roasting tray, keeping the rosemary on its sprig, along with the salt and pepper. Pour in the cannellini beans, tomatoes, chicken stock and port. Stir and pop in the oven for about an hour, stirring occasionally throughout this time.

4. Tear the stale ciabatta into chunks and toss in olive oil. Remove the cassoulet from the oven after the hour has passed, and top with the chunks of ciabatta. Give a light stir, and make sure the bread soaks up some of the lovely juices. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.