Recipe of the week - Sausage Casserole

Sausage casserole is one of those hearty, comforting meals. It's ridiculously easy to rustle up and perfect for long, cold winter evenings.

Serves 4

1 large tin of chopped tomatoes (try and buy good quality as these tins contain more fruit. I usually use Napolina)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 dash worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar (this complements the sweet tomatoes perfectly.)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper
Splash of olive oil
8 sausages
1 sprig of rosemary
10 new potatoes, halved
1 tin chick peas
1 small tin of baked beans

optional: sliced carrots, swede, turnips, parsnips

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius

1. Begin by making the sauce. Start by chopping the onions, and garlic.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic. Fry on a medium heat until they are softened but not colouring. Adding a little salt is helpful as it helps to draw the moisture out of the vegetables and stops them burning.
3. Add the tin of tomatoes
4. Fill the empty tin of tomatoes with water and wash into the pan - this ensures that no tomato is wasted.
5. Add the sugar, mixed herbs, tomato puree, vegetable stock cube, salt and pepper and worcester sauce to the pan.
6. Cover with a lid and cook for ten minutes.
7. Meanwhile brown off the sausages for a couple of minutes in a frying pan. Chop roughly.
8. Add the tomato sauce, sausages, rosemary, potatoes, chickpeas, baked beans and any other vegetables you are using to an ovenproof dish.
9. Cover and cook for two hours.

*for a QUICK version, fry the sausages until they are cooked. Boil the potatoes separately for ten minutes. Then combine all the ingredients in a large pan and simmer for 5 minutes on the hob until everything is heated through*