Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 1 hour 45 mins | Serves 4
Make the most of kale in this sausage one-pot recipe, served with a quick, punchy gremolata on the side
Ingredients:
olive oil
8 meaty pork sausages
3 rashers streaky bacon chopped
1 large red onionfinely chopped
100g cavolo nero leaves stripped and torn into pieces, stems finely chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée
a glass (optional) red wine
175g Puy lentils
750ml chicken stock
400g tin cherry tomatoes
100g kale leaves stripped
GREMOLATA
a small bunch flat-leaf parsley chopped
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon zested and ½ juiced
Instructions:
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a casserole over a medium heat and brown the sausages until golden all over, then scoop out onto a plate. Tip in the bacon and fry until crisp and the fat has rendered, adding a little more oil if drying out.
Add the onion, cavolo nero stems and a pinch of salt, and cook gently for 5-10 minutes or until soft, then add the garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further minute before adding the red wine, if using, and bubble for a few minutes until reduced by 1/2. Stir in the lentils, stock and tomatoes, and add back the sausages and any juices from the plate. Simmer gently for 45 minutes until the lentils are just tender.
Mix together the parsley, extra-virgin olive oil and lemon zest and juice in a bowl with a little seasoning.
Stir the kale and the cavolo nero leaves into the casserole with another 100ml of water and simmer gently, while stirring, for 10 minutes, until the cavolo nero is cooked.
Spoon into bowls and serve with the gremolata scattered over.