Filling Tummies with Sausage and Lentil Hotpot with Mash

My apologies for being absent from my blog lately. My Hubby broke some bones in his foot at work last week and is out of action at the moment. I am flying solo on the home front and finding it hard to grab a moment for my blog. How on earth single mothers cope I have no idea.

Anyhow this recipe has been one of our family favourites this winter. I converted it from this recipe on taste.com.

Sausage and Lentil Hotpot with Mash

Ingredients

8 thin beef sausages (lean)
1 steamer basket full of diced potatoes (2cm dice)
20g butter
50g cream or milk
50g water
1/2 tsp chicken stock
1 large brown onion, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, peeled
4 rashers bacon, rind removed, chopped into strips
1 can diced organic tomatoes
40g water
1 tsp chicken stock
2 dried bay leaves
1 can organic brown lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup Italian parsley chopped
salt and pepper

Method:

Place sausages in deep varoma dish. Place 4 sausages across the bottom and the other 4 on top of them but laying in the opposite direction.

Place 500g of water in the TMX bowl and insert the steamer basket (full of potatoes) into the bowl. Fit the varoma on to the lid. Steam for 22 minutes at varoma temp, speed 4.

After the cooking time check that the sausages are cooked and the potatoes are falling apart easily (cook for longer if necessary). Remove the varoma and basket. Empty the TMX bowl and insert the butterfly. Add the potatoes, butter, cream, water and stock and mash at speed 4 for 10-20 seconds. Scrape the mash into thermoserve and clean the bowl.

Add garlic and onion to bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 5. Add bacon and oil and saute for 3 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse speed 1.

Add the tomatoes, water, stock and bay leaves to bowl and cook for 10 minutes at 100 degrees, reverse speed 1.While this is cooking chop each sausage into 6-8 pieces.

Add the chopped sausages and drained lentils and cook for a further 5 minutes at 100 degrees, reverse speed 1. In the last minute of cooking add the parsley and season generously with salt and pepper.

Remove bay leaves and serve the sausage and lentil hotpot with the mash. Enjoy!