Slow cooked sausages and borlotti beans

Slow cooked sausages and borlotti beans

Body Content

If you’re a fan of planning ahead, it’s difficult to deny the benefits of a slow cooker. It uses such a small amount of power and you can leave it to do its thing, bubbling away, while you get on with life. For this recipe, all you need is a few minutes’ effort early in the day then you can head outside to kick leaves while your dinner gets delicious all by itself.

And don’t worry, you don’t really need fresh borlotti beans, as tinned borlotti beans will work just as well. In fact, all beans are great with sausages – haricot and cannellini would be fine – they soak up all the flavours and make for a tasty, hearty meal.

Perfect, no-fuss autumn food.

Pssst: Not part of the slow cooker revolution? Don’t worry, there’s a stove-top method too.

Ingredients

8-10 sausages
A handful of chopped chorizo (about 4″)
1 large onion
2 sticks of celery
2 peppers
3 carrots
1 large clove of garlic – sliced
1 tin of rinsed cannellini/borlotti beans or a small bowl of fresh borlotti*
1 tin plum tomatoes
Pinch of chilli flakes or smoked paprika
Stock cube or stock ‘melt’
A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce

*If you have fresh borlotti beans boil them in unsalted water for 20 minutes until softened

Slow cooker method

1. Switch your slow cooker on to high to preheat a little
2. Chop the onion, celery, pepper and carrots into small chunks
3. In a large pan, gently fry the chorizo for a few minutes
4. Add all the vegetables and stir well, then add the sliced garlic clove
5. Cook them down for 10 minutes and put them into the slow cooker
6. Brown the sausages in a frying pan to give them colour – add them to the slow cooker too
7. Add the tinned tomatoes, beans, chilli/paprika and the stock cube/melt
8. Slow cook on high for 5-6 hours
9. Check the flavour then add any extra seasonings if needed
10. Leave it to cool a little before serving

Stove-top method

1. Brown the sausages and put to one side
2. Fry off the chorizo, then add the vegetables and soften them
3. Add the browned sausages, the tomatoes, paprika, and stock
4. Add half a can of water to make a loose sauce
5. Simmer in a lidded pan, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

We eat it this with plenty of crusty, thickly buttered bread. Just look at that steam…