#15 - Butternut Squash and Sausage Bake with Chestnuts and Sage

This dish is very similar to the Tagliatelle with Chestnuts, Sage and Crispy Parma Ham which I made as dish number 2. However, this time, following a recipe from Olive magazine, I used butternut squash instead of tagliatelle and chopped up sausages in place of the parma ham.

It was very much a "chuck in the oven and do something else while it cooks" recipe which is perfect for the end of a work day when you've got better things to be getting on with than standing over a stove! Peel and chop the BNS then chop six sausages into small pieces. Add a packet of chestnuts (I used 200g of the vacuum packed Merchant Gourmand chestnuts) and some sage, and drizzle olive oil over the whole lot.

It took around an hour to cook so check it a couple of times and turn everything over so it cooks evenly. It was delicious and would probably have been improved by the addition of some brussel sprouts. I might try that next time!

#5 - Sausage and Lentil Casserole

This was a bit of a "throw it all together and see what happens" dinner, but it was lovely.

Take 6 sausages and brown in a frying pan before putting into an oven-proof casserole dish. Meanwhile chop and fry some red onion until soft. Add to the sausages. Measure out a mug of lentils (I used puy lentils, but any kind of lentils would do) and add to the casserole, then measure the same amount of liquid. I used cider, but chicken or vegetable stock, passata, or even water, would do just as well. Add two tins of tomatoes plus a tin of kidney beans and half a finely chopped chilli, and stir the casserole gently to mix the ingredients together. Then put into a medium oven (around 180°) for 1-1½ hours until the mixture is bubbling and the sausages and lentils are cooked.

It's perfect for this time of year and easy to make. I'm sure you could also make it in a slow cooker if you had one.