Homemade Sausages and Lentils

I came back from Europe with some food magazines and had brought them to Cambodia as my bedtime read.

"Everytime I look, you're on this page", Le Monsieur commented. He was referring to the Woman & Home magazine, Autumn 2010 issue that was in my hands. It was a recipe for sausages and lentils. Now, saucisses lentilles is one of my favourite French dishes. Some people call it peasant food, but I like its simplicity. And despite its humble ingredients, when properly cooked, it is packed full of flavour.

In this recipe, chef Antonio Carluccio detailed how to make sausages. Well, they resembled more meatballs in a sausage shape than real sausages but I was game to try it. I made slight modifications to the recipe and voila! Homemade sausages and lentils!

Homemade Sausages and Lentils - serves 4
Inspired by Antonio Carluccio
Ingredients
For the lentils:
250g of lentils
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
4 or 5 sundried tomatoes, sliced
3 leaves of celery, diced
100g of baby carrots (or use normal carrots, peeled and cut)
200ml of full flavoured red wine
A generous dash of Chinese cooking wine
Salt
For the sausages:
500g lean pork
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp rosemary leaves (double the amount if using dried rosemary)
50ml full flavoured red wine
Cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation time: 15 mins (+1 hour marinating)
Cooking time: 40 mins
Level of Difficulty: East peasy

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sausages well. Cover and put in the fridge for an hour. Rinse and soak the lentils in water. This will reduce the cooking time required.

In a deep pot on medium heat, fry the garlic and sundried tomatoes in oil until soft. Add the carrots and the celery and continue cooking for around 5 minutes. Drain the lentils and add to the pot together with the red wine and the Chinese cooking wine. When the wine starts to boil, lower the heat and cover. Leave to simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir from time to time to ensure even cooking.

Little Bundles of Joy

Remove the meat from the fridge and divide into 8 equal portions (about 1 heaped tablespoon for each portion). Tightly roll the meat in aluminum foil, twist the ends like a candy wrapper. Put them into a pot of boiling water, removing when they float to the surface. Leave to cool.

Once the packages are cool enough to the touch, remove the foil and place the meat on a baking tray. Grill them in a preheated oven at 175degC for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Serve the lentils in a shallow dish with 2 sausages. Sprinkle with some chives or spring onions if available.

Post cooking note:

I found the sausages a little too dry. This may be because I used lean pork instead of a fattier cut. I would recommend adding some oil to the mix to improve the taste, or using a combination of lean and fatty pork in the mince.