A rustic and hearty autumn stew packed full of flavour
I love sausages. If anyone ever was to ask me “would you like a sausage with that?” the answer, invariably, would be yes.
Do you want a sausage with that slice of cheese cake? Yes. Would you like a sausage with your new double mattress? Yes. Would you like a complimentary sausage whilst you sign your official marriage certificate. Yes, I certainly would.
Jokes aside (not joking though), this is a simple dish that packs a lot of flavour and colour into one pot.
When I first decided to add the orange zest to this recipe I was a bit unsure how it would come out, but I was impressed how well the subtle orange flavour complimented the other ingredients.
I also used two different kinds of chickpeas for this recipe, one can of ‘normal’ white chickpeas and another of brown chickpeas, also known as Kala Chana. They are smaller and slightly firmer than regular chickpeas and have a deeper, smokier flavour. You don’t have to use Kala Chana if you don’t want to, or can’t find any. I found mine in the Eastern European section of my local Co-op and they were the same price as regular chickpeas.
Ingredients
1 pack of sausages (400g) – £1.70
2 tins of chickpeas in water – £1.10
2 tins of chopped tomatoes – £0.70
1 medium white onion – £0.21
2 medium courgettes – £0.60
3 cloves of garlic – £0.05
3 cubes of frozen spinach (75g) – £0.15
250ml chicken stock – £0.08
Zest of one medium orange – £0.25
Vegetable oil or fry light for cooking
Crusty bread for sauce mopping (optional)
Serves 4
Total Cost – £4.84
Cost per person – £1.21
Total Cooking Time – Under 60 minutes
Instructions
Chop your vegetables first; dice the onion, finely slice the garlic and cut the courgette into 1 cm thick rounds.
Heat some oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, sweat this down until the onion starts to soften and turn translucent.
Add the sausages and cook for 5-7 minutes. Mine didn’t brown off too much, it doesn’t matter as we’re going to stew them for a while. I think I preferred the texture without a crispy skin, but it’s up to you how much you brown off your sausages.
Add your courgette and again allow these to sweat down and brown off slightly for 5 minutes.
Now you can bosh in all of the chopped tomatoes and chickpeas. Turn the hob down to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes with the lid on.
After the 15 minutes are up you can add in the chicken stock, spinach cubes and orange zest. Let everything bubble away for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring everything together every so often.
Get your plates ready because it’s time to eat. You might be lucky enough to have some juicy tomato, sausage and orange liquid left on your plate. If you do, you should definitely mop this up with some crusty bread.
Normal People Food 