Pork Sausage with Lentil & Bacon Ragout

Sorry to be a typical Aucklander, but what is with this weather? I can't even see past our neighbour's house due to fog and cloud and we've got an emergency pile of towels all around the walls of our dining room where we've sprung a leak. Our front garden is several inches under and every pair of shoes I own is wet. Sodden. Soaking. And sitting by a combo of the heater & dehumidifier trying to dry out. It's not nice out there. 

I think you need something comforting when the weather is this terrible. Something easy that warms you from the inside out, something equally delicious and nutritious that doesn't take hours to prepare but does use the stove enough that your kitchen is nice and toasty which keeps you out of bed that little bit longer.  This dish ticks all the boxes. Surprisingly so. I mean, I would have even passed on the sausage, normally the best bit, for more of the lentils, so comforting and delicious they were. 

All tucked up on the couch with my boys, a blanket, a glass of pinot and a bowl of this stuff and I can almost forget what's going on outside. But if an Ark goes past my window I'm getting inside.

Pork Sausage with Lentil & Bacon Ragout from Dish, issue #47

6-8 thick pork sausages

olive oil

100g bacon, cut into pieces

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced and fronds reserved

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 red wine

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup Puy lentils, rinsed

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the bacon, onion, garlic, carrots, fennel and bay leaves. Season, then cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender.  Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and allow to bubble up until most has evaporated.  Add the stock and lentils and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until the lentils are just cooked and still a little soupy.

Heat some oil in another pan and cook the sausages until cooked through and golden. 

Add the parsley to the lentils and serve in shallow bowls.  Slice the sausages in half and serve on top of the lentils. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds and enjoy!