Sausage and chicken casserole recipe

This hearty sausage and chicken casserole is perfect for a family dinner.

It's a little like a French cassoulet - a slow cooked stew from the south of France which usually contains a variety of meats, baked in beans. It makes a really traditional autumn or winter warmer. This version is much quicker and easier. If you don't have any cooked chicken breasts, you can just pop a couple in the oven while the sausages are cooking. Alternatively, it's a great way of using up leftovers from a roast chicken - use the thighs and drumsticks instead of breast meat.

Ingredients

• 6 chunky pork sausages
• 50g diced smoked bacon pieces
• 1 tbsp oil, for cooking
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• 1 stick celery, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 sticks of thyme, a few leaves reserved for garnish
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 400g tinned butter or cannellini beans
• 2 cooked chicken breasts (or 4 cooked chicken joints)

Method

1. Grill the sausages until they are coloured on one side. You can set them to grill while you are carrying out steps 2-4, but don't forget to remove and set aside when they are cooked on one side.
2. In a large, heavy saucepan, gently fry the bacon pieces in a little oil until coloured on all sides.
3. Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic and herbs. Cook for another 2 mins.
4. Add chopped tomatoes and raise the heat a little to bring to the boil. Drain the beans and add to the stew. Season well.
5. Place the mix in an ovenproof pot. Arrange the sausages on top, coloured side downwards. Cut chicken breasts into half and place into the bean mix as well.
6. Bake at 180°C for 25 mins. Remove the thyme sticks and bay leave before serving, and garnish with the reserved thyme leaves.

Top Tip for making sausage and chicken casserole

For an extra crunchy topping: just before serving, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of breadcrumbs and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

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