Sausage, lentil and silverbeet stew

 I have discovered the most delicious pork and fennel sausages at my local butcher.  I now buy them every couple of weeks and have been exploring new ways of cooking them.  In a bid to lower the stodge quotient involved in sausagy meals (due to the large quantity of mash, roast potatoes so on that often go along) I decided to make a hearty stew with vegetables, and some of the lovely green lentils I have a stockpile of at the moment.


Ingredients:

• 6 pork and fennel sausages
• 3/4 cup green or puy lentils
• 1 bunch silverbeet
• 2 tins crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups of vegetable stock
• 1 brown onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 quill of cinnamon
• olive oil
• Fresh crusty bread, or garlic bread, for serving

 Heat the oven to about 170.  Chop the onions and garlic and saute in the oil, in a heavy, oven proof dish.  Shred the silverbeet, removing the large stalky bits.  Add the lentils and beet to the pot and stir through the oil and onions. 

 Add the two tins of tomatoes and the stock, cinnamon and bay leaves, then the sausages.  Bring to a simmer, cover and put the entire dish in the oven for anywhere between 40 minutes and an hour, until the lentils are cooked.  When it's done take the sausages out and chop them, then return them to the stew, juices and all.  Serve with the crusty bread, or garlic bread. 

One pot wonders for the win, as they say on the internets.