With this sausage traybake, all you have to do is turn on the oven
It’s the kind of meal that lets you reclaim your evening; everything goes into the pan, and the oven takes care of the rest.
If you were to ask me what comes to mind when I think of comfort, I would always answer with the same three words: sausages, beans, custard. Especially now that cooler days have arrived. It should come as no surprise that I relish these late autumn evenings and the kind of cooking that comes with them. I feel it’s almost an obligation, as your resident home cook and fellow weeknight scrambler, to say that despite all the viral and beautifully plated recipes we’re bombarded with, dinner doesn’t always have to be exciting. Sometimes it just needs to be warm, familiar and easy.
You can’t beat sausages as a dinner win. I build a lot of meals around them, though I’m picky about the kind I bring home. They need to be good quality, preferably from a butcher – and, if possible, preservative-free. How I serve them changes: squeezed out and tossed through pasta; served on a bed of creamy mash, beans or polenta; or perhaps in a casserole. But here, it’s a tray of sausages nestled into a tomatoey chickpea mix. Fat, plump snags sink into a bed of canned chickpeas and cherry tomatoes, which collapse and sweeten in the heat. A pinch of sugar and a splash of vinegar bring it all to life – small things that wake up the tin. It’s the kind of meal that lets you reclaim your evening; everything goes into the pan, and the oven takes care of the rest.
Try too my comforting custard and apples.
Sausages, chickpeas and jammy tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (cannellini and butter beans are also good)
- 600g cherry tomatoes, whole
- 6 garlic cloves, in skins
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- Salt flakes
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 500g sausages (I use pork chipolatas)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan-forced). In a roasting tray (about 3L capacity), combine the chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, a good pinch of salt, balsamic vinegar, sugar and 1 tablespoon of water.
- Toss everything together, then spread it out evenly. Lay the sausages on top and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
- Rub to coat, then nestle them into the tray. Roast for 1 hour, giving everything a good toss and turning the sausages halfway through.
- Check the seasoning at the end and adjust if needed. Serve with warm crusty bread and a nicely dressed green salad.
Serves 4
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