Sausage Casserole

I originally posted this on my old blog but am going to be making it again this week so thought I would re-blog it here.

I'm not sure where I originally found this recipe but it's very tasty and perfect for chilly evenings. You can serve the casserole with pretty much anything that takes your fancy - rice, bread, pasta or my personal favourite, mashed potato.

When I first made this I was a little hesitant as it's quite tomato-based and Mr M has quite an aversion to tomato heavy food but it's got such a lovely flavour, the tomato isn't that overpowering. The kids weren't so keen the first time we had it which was strange considering they have an obsession with sausages - they do tend to be creatures of habit though and the second time we had it, they just wolfed it down without comment. I think they just weren't used to seeing their beloved sausages all chopped and smothered in sauce.

This recipe serves 4 (*ahem* dwarves) and is very good as leftovers the next day.

Sausage Casserole

Ingredients

8 good quality pork sausages, cut into bite size pieces
tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
handful of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
175ml red wine
500g tub of passata
1tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
handful of chopped basil

Method

Gently fry the sausages in a large pan in the olive oil until cooked through and golden brown.

Remove the sausage and keep to one side. In the same pan fry the onion and garlic until softened. After 5 minutes or so add the peppers, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes and cook or a further few minutes then return the sausages to the pan.

Turn the heat up high, add the red wine and cook for a few minutes to reduce slightly.

Add the passata, sugar, basil and paprika and simmer for 30 minutes.

Season to taste and serve with your preferred accompaniment!
love & kisses
Mrs M x