Sausage and Butterbean Casserole

One never hears very much about elusive food, indeed it is in general particularly static. This dish, first attempted a number of weeks ago, has however managed to elude my blog twice because of camera issues. Indeed, any suggestion that my food has been hiding from me can be taken as entirely false. Nevertheless I have finally caught the little blighter and am now bringing it to you, and do you know what? It’s bloody delicious. Until recently, pulses have never really been my “thing”, they never appealed to me, I don’t know why. The best thing about them, though, is that they are actually very tasty but also they are filling and cheap, how can someone as frugal as I possibly have ever hated those little munchy wonders?

Strictly speaking this dish isn’t a casserole because it’s cooked entirely on the hob, although I guess the same standard could be achieved in the oven. It does share some similarities with “the casserole” though, for one it’s really warming and hearty, I guess it’s the sausage-y equivalent of traditionalWelsh Cawl. This one-pot wonder is very simple to make, but will blow your taste buds away. The recipe will serve four and take less than an hour to cook.

Sausage and Butterbean Casserole {recipe}

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 8 good quality beef sausages, sliced into three
• 100g lardons or cooking bacon
• 2 medium sized leeks, sliced
• 200ml vegetable stock
• 撮chilli flakes, add more or less depending on taste
• 400g butter beans
• 1 garlic clove, mashed
• small slosh of white wine
• oil and seasoning

Method:

In a pan fry the bacon in a small amount of oil until crispy, to this add the leeks and garlic. Cook until the leeks have broken down somewhat, at which point you’ll want to add the sausages to give them time to brown off.

Once the sausages are slightly browned, but not yet cooked, add the vegetable stock, wine, chilli and seasoning. Cook out for 5 minutes before adding the butterbeans.

Cook until both the sausage and butter beans are edible, this should take around 5 – 10 minutes. Serve in a bowl with bread and cheese (if you’re feeling particularly wealthy)

Cost:

If served with bread but no cheese this dish should be easily achievable for around£1.80per serving, which in my opinion is an absolute bargain, in a restaurant you’d probably pay at least£13for something like this. The cost could also be significantly reduced if you’re willing to sacrifice sausage quality, something which proved to be a step too far for me.