Sausages with Lentils

As an alternative to the old classic Sausage and Mash, I often do a type of lentil dal. The dal is seasoned and spiced according to the type of sausages being used, although I do tend to use a spicy banger ie Cumberland, Toulouse, Merguez. The following recipe is very simple, very filling, very cheap and above all very tasty. This dish uses cumberland however if I were using merguez, I would probably add some chili, paprika and finish with a squeeze of lemon

Ingredients (for 2) : 6 sausages, onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 large carrot, 2 sticks of celery, 100g green lentils, chicken stock, thyme, olive oil, ex v olive oil

1. Dice the veg into equal size pieces. Rinse the lentils in a sieve.
2. On a medium to high heat, sweat the veg and the crushed garlic for 5 mins.
3. Add the lentils and thyme and stir.
4. Add the stock, stir and reduce to a medium heat. Cover pot and cook for 20 mins or until lentils are cooked but still retain a slight bite. Check seasoning and adjust where necessary.
5. Meanwhile, cook the sausages on a griddle pan
6. To serve, place a pile of the dal into the centre of a warm place. Arrange sausages on top and drizzle some ex virgin oil oil over the top.