I’ve finally had to admit Summer is over and Autumn is here as I have had to put on my central heating.  Every year I try to wait as long as I can in the hope that if I don’t put the heating on we will suddenly get a few more days of glorious warm sunshine.

I do love Autumn though, especially the cold crisp mornings and seeing the different colours as the leaves change.  I also love cooking comforting food at this time of year, soups, stews and casseroles.  I do still have salads but tend to do warm salads with grilled vegetables and lentils.  This sausage and pepper dish is perfect for a cold evening.

I would recommend for this dish that you buy the best quality sausages you can afford, you’re looking for a high pork content of at least 97%.  Many cheaper sausages are filled with water and other fillers to bulk them out and you can definitely taste the difference.

Serves 4

Ingredients

-6x good quality pork sausages

-1 Tbsp. olive oil

-1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced in to half moons

-2 peppers (any colours except green), stalk and seeds removed and sliced thinly

-1 clove of garlic, crushed

-2 1/2 cups passata

-1 heaped Tbsp. tomato puree

-1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

-Salt & Pepper to taste

How To Make

Pierce the skin of the sausages lengthways and remove the sausage meat.  Discard the skins.

Divide each sausage into 3 and roll into balls to get 18 balls or ‘nuggets’.

Heat a large saute or frying pan over a medium heat and add the sausage nuggets and brown all over.  Once browned remove from the pan and cover to keep warm.

Still with the pan over a medium heat add the oil and then the onion, peppers and garlic.  Give everything a good stir, reduce the heat to low and cover.  Cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  If you think the pan is too dry, add a splash of water.

After the vegetables have cooked for 10 minutes they should be nice and soft.  Add the sausages back to the pan along with the rest of the ingredients.  Give everything a big stir.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with rice, quinoa or pasta.

Enjoy 🙂