Sausage casserole is one of life’s simple pleasures, especially during the winter months. It’s one of those extremely versatile dishes which is very hard to make it not come out warm and comforting. As a one pot dish goes, you can throw all sorts in and it always comes out a winner.

It’s great for Sunday left overs or just using up things in the fridge or cupboards.

This recipe is all about simplicity and as little faff as possible. Could it be levelled up, for sure but it’s a great base to work from.

There are some ideas at the end on some variations you could try.

Step 1 - The veg

Add some knobs of butter to your pot, it’s important it has a lid
Slice the leeks and onions and add to the pot
Roughly dice the carrot and chuck it in
Add a generous pinch or two of salt and give it a good stir
Put over a low heat and let it sweat down for 20-30 minutes. Give it an occasional stir to make sure it’s not catching, if it is, add a splash of water but the steam and salt should keep the moisture up in the pot to stop this from happening
Whilst this is happening, kick off step 2 to prep your snorkers

Step 2 - The sausages

Fry off or grill the sausages to get them cooking and until they are nice and browned
Slice up as required, I like a jaunty slice!

Step 3 - Put it all together and wait

Add the remainder of the casserole ingredients and give it a good stir
Add some generous twists of the pepper mill
Put the lid back on and leave at least 30 minutes, but ideally an hour, on a low heat, stirring occasionally

Step 4 - Serve

Mix a couple of tablespoons natural yoghurt with a generous splash of good extra virgin olive oil and mix
Either drizzle over or leave in a pot for people to help themselves
Serve with some lovely mash, rice works well too, or just a hunk of fresh bread
Another generous serving of freshly ground black pepper

Options

Here are some ideas on levelling up or different things to try:

Roast or char some red peppers (See here on Dave’s recipe, - step 6)
Dice and roast some butternut squash covered in olive oil
Add some chorizo, lightly frying off first to crisp up a little
Mix up your sausages
Add some baby potatoes instead of serving with mash
Add some green peas at the end for some extra colour and a fresh pop
Use different kinds of beans
Works well as a veggie dish too with veggie sausages and no bacon, just add more beans
Change up the spices, I’ve gone with the Spanish influence here but Moroccan or Indian flavours work well too, or just keep it simple and leave out the spices all together and keep it herby
Swap the sausages for left over roast meats, chicken or pork work really well
Throw in a some cabbage, more beans and some stale bread chunks, a little chicken stock and it’s on its way to a ribollita