Nigel Slater’s Sausages With Salami and Lentils

Photo: Beverley Ann D'Cruz

Ingredients

2 mediums onions

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

200 grams small salami

350 grams fresh sausages

500 grams crushed tomatoes or tomato passata

150 grams green or brown lentils

3 bay leaves

Preparation

Peel onions and cut each one in half from the tip to the root, then cut each half into four or five pieces. Warm the oil in a heavy-based casserole, add the onions and let them cook over a moderate heat until tender. Meanwhile, peel the garlic, slice it thinly and add it to the onions. You’ll need to stir them regularly.

Peel the thin skin from the salami and cut the inside into fat matchsticks. Add this to the softening onions and leave for a couple of minutes, during which time the salami will darken slightly. (NOTE: If the salami releases too much oil fish out the excess at this stage because it is impossible to do so later).

Start cooking the sausages in a non-stick pan. You want them to colour on the outside; they will do most of their cooking once they are in the sauce.

Tip the crushed tomatoes into the onions, add the washed lentils and stir in 500ml water. Bring to the boil. Remove the sausages from their pan and tuck them into the casserole with the bay leaves.

Cover the pot with a lid and leave to simmer gently for about half an hour, until the lentils are tender. Stir the lentils and season with black pepper. You may find it needs little or no salt.