Stew of Italy

The first Sunday of April didn't feel like that, certainly not in terms of the weather which was cold enough to allow there to be still snow at the local cricket ground where I had volunteered to help out the day before and it was still cold that evening  when I ventured to the big city to sample some real bitters at niche real ale bar.

That said after a walk in the lingering snowdrifts with the dog on the Sunday morning I needed something warm and substantial for dinner. The choice for the meal was sausage, rosemary and puy lentil stew a dish which is a staple on dinner tables throughout Italy. 

The album I chose to cook to was the Happy Mondays' 1991 live offering simply entitled Live. It was recorded live at Elland Road Football Club at a time when Leeds United had a big rivalry with Manchester United, whose fans included several members of the band. The album is memorable for some sloppy but passionate performances as the band just about hold it together in a live setting. 

I heated some olive oil gently on the hob in my Le Cresceut Dish and then added four Marjoram Flavoured vegetarian sausages and a diced garlic clove. Once the clove and sausages had cooked for two minutes I added a finely cut white onion, two thinly sliced carrots, three sprigs of Rosemary and two celery sticks that were cut into pieces width-ways with the stringy flesh removed from them. 

I fried the contents of the dish on moderate heat for around ten to fifteen minutes while stirring it constantly to stop pieces of food getting stuck to the bottom of the Le Cresceut dish and burning. Once this period was up I realised the dish needed dampening a little so I added half a pint of white wine and half a pint of vegetable stock together with three tablespoons of Puy Lentils to give that extra bit of protein to the dish. 

So as to soften the lentils and finish softening the cooked carrots and celery I boiled the wine and stock fiercely for around fifteen minutes while topping it up with wine and water if it looked that the dish was in danger of drying up. Once the lentils had softened I turned the heat down on the hob and added a can of chopped tomatoes to the dish. After mixing the tomatoes into the rest of the dish I let it cook on a low light for a time while I prepared the potatoes. 

I used three white potatoes that were medium sized. I peeled them and sliced them width-ways so that at their thickets the individual pieces were half a centimetre deep. I fried them in sunflower oil in a wide frying pan turning them frequently until they were brown around the edges and I could put a fork through them. 

At around the same time I tested the stew and found it too was ready. The stew was very rich and the quality of the sausages meant that the lack of meat in the dish was not an issue, furthermore the lentils and strong tasting wine helped make this a substantial dish while the potatoes were crisp and had an extra kick thanks to the extra bit of Rosemary I added to them when they were fried. 

This was certainly a recipe to fight away the cold with. 

Spuds you'll like- the fried potatoes complemented this substantial stew.