Recipe | Sausages with Green Lentils & Salsa Verde

Move over mash! Pair your bangers with lentils for a rich and filling feast with a little kick.

Serves 4

300g green lentils (we got ours from hodmedods.co.uk)

Olive oil

250g bacon lardons

1 onion, finely diced

2 celery sticks, finely diced

2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

2 bay leaves

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

6 pork sausages

A splash of cider vinegar

For the salsa verde:

1 small bunch of basil, finely chopped

1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 small bunch of mint, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp capers, rinsed and finely chopped

1 tbsp cider vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

3-4 anchovy fillets

How to make

1 Rinse the lentils in cold water and leave to soak for 30 mins.

2 To make the salsa verde, place the herbs, garlic and capers in a blender. Add the vinegar, olive oil and anchovies, along with a good pinch of salt and black pepper, blitz to combine. Check the seasoning, adding more if necessary.

3 Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the lardons and fry for about 5 mins, or until crispy and golden. Add the onion, celery, carrots and bay leaves and cook for 10 mins more over a medium–low heat, or until they’re very, very soft but without much colour. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins.

4 Add the soaked and drained lentils and 1 teaspoon of salt and stir until they’re well coated with the oil and veg, then add enough cold water to cover the lentils by about 1cm. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 mins, or until tender, topping up with a little more boiling water if necessary.

5 With the lentils cooking, fry the sausages in a little oil for 8–10 mins, or until cooked. Remove from heat.

6 Remove the lentils from the heat and add a splash of vinegar to taste. Check the seasoning. Serve the lentils with the sausages and a big dollop of the salsa verde.

This recipe is taken from Pipers Farm: The Sustainable Meat Cookbook by Abby Allen & Rachel Lovell (Kyle Books). Photography: Matt Austin. The sausages with lentils are just one of the ideas for autumnal recipes featured in our November issue.

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More autumnal recipes…

More from our November issue…

Spinach, sausage and orzo soup

This spinach, sausage and orzo soup offers a whole meal and a big dose of comfort in one bowl for those midwinter days when you want dinner on
the sofa and minimal washing up.

Serves 4
6 plump sausages (ideally with lots of onion or garlic)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stick of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp tomato purée
A generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
A small pinch of dried oregano
800ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
100g orzo or other small pasta
150g spinach, stems removed, roughly chopped
2 tbsp single or double cream 

TO SERVE:
Fresh parsley, chopped
Fresh basil, chopped
Freshly grated parmesan

1 Remove the sausage casings and shape the meat into little meatballs. Place the oil in a heavy-based pan with a lid over a medium-high heat and add the sausage meatballs. Brown them all over, then lift out and set aside. Turn the heat down to medium and to the same pan add the onion, carrot and celery, and season; sauté for 10 mins, until soft and beginning to brown.
2 Add garlic and tomato purée and cook, stirring for 2 mins. Next, add the nutmeg, oregano, stock and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 mins.
3 Add the orzo*, spinach and meatballs and simmer for 4 mins, or until the orzo and meatballs are cooked. Remove from the heat, add the cream and remove the bay leaf and check seasoning.
4 Serve in wide bowls, and garnish with herbs and parmesan.

Recipe from Leon Happy Soups by Rebecca Seal and John Vincent (Conran Octopus).

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View the sampler here.

More from the January issue:

More soup recipes: