Sausage Shallot and Lentil Casserole with Ginger and Parsley

This recipe for Sausage Shallot and Lentil Casserole with Ginger and Parsley comes from www.UKshallot.com.

There is nothing quite like shallots for adding a uniquely delicate, sweet, piquant flavour. With their superior taste, shallots transform everyday meals into something extra special.

Shallots form a vital part of the chef's mise en place and are at the heart of many classic dishes. Professional chefs and passionate home cooks know that shallots are a crucial ingredient in stews and casseroles but they are also fantastic in stir fries, breads, sauces, tarts, soups, salads and curries.

Our traditional shallot growing areas cover 150 hectares (370 acres) of light, sandy soils in eastern England: principally, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Bedfordshire. The shallot growing year starts at the end of February in the UK, as soon as the soil starts to warm up and the shallots are harvested throughout July and August.

Because shallots are a specialist crop, they require a great deal of care from sowing the seeds or plants to harvesting the bulbs and storing them.

Ingredients for Sausage Shallot and Lentil Casserole with Ginger and Parsley

Olive oil
8 good quality pork and leek sausages
400g whole small shallots
30g ginger finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2-3 bay leaves
½ Bottle of Red Wine
1 litre good chicken stock
200g lentil de Puy
30g parsley

How to make Sausage Shallot and Lentil Casserole with Ginger and Parsley

• In a large metal casserole dish add a splash of olive oil and seal off the sausages so that they are browned off all over, remove from the pan and place on to a plate until later on when required.

• Wipe out the pan the sausages were in and add another splash of oil, then add in the whole peeled shallots, finely diced ginger and carrot and cook for a minute.

• Now add the sprig of thyme, bay leaves and the wine, bring to the boil and reduce the liquid by three-quarters.

• When the liquid has reduced add the stock and bring back to the boil. Once boiled add in the lentils and cook on the top of the stove for 5 minutes.

• Add the sausages back to the pan and place the whole pan into a hot oven at 180°C for 20 minutes.

• Remove the pan from the oven and add the chopped parsley.

• The sauce should be at the right consistency and the lentils cooked through, but if the sauce is too thin simply place back on the stove and reduce slightly until the right consistency has been achieved, it should coat the back of a spoon.

• Place the lentils and shallots on hot plates then place the sausages on top, pouring over the sauce and finishing with a sprig of parsley.

• Serve with Tenderstem broccoli and creamy mash potatoes.

Serves 4

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