Venison sausage and lentil casserole
A satisfying and deliciously savoury casserole
10 mins
55 mins
490 kcals
serves 4
VENISON SAUSAGE AND LENTIL CASSEROLE
I’ve often made sausage and lentil casseroles over the past few years, and venison sausages are a great choice for anyone looking for a lean option, as they are generally naturally lean, without being labelled as low-fat. I used the Tesco Finest ones in this (1 syn each on Slimming World), but they do vary,
I used to do a slow cooker version which included cranberries, but as they aren’t readily available at this time of year I tried it without and it was still lovely. If you don’t want to use venison sausages this would still be great using any of the low-fat sausage options on the market.
Good value puy lentils aren’t always easy to find in the supermarket- don’t be caught by the ready cooked ones, they are very expensive! Most health food shops sell them, and if you are stuck you can replace them with green lentils (but do try to get puy- they have a lovely consistency!)
Venison sausage and lentil casserole
Ingredients
- 4 rashers smoked bacon fat removed
- 6 venison sausages
- 2 red onions finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 carrots peeled and finely chopped
- 175 g puy lentils rinsed
- 750 ml vegetable stock I use the Marigold Bouillon which is so flavoursome!
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp redcurrant jelly although I used crab apple this time as I didn’t have any redcurrant!
- low calorie cooking spray
- Salt and pepper
- Parsley to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c. Fry the bacon until cooked, and set aside, then fry the sausages until browned on the outside (they don’t need to be cooked through) and set aside too.
- Fry the onions for about 5 minutes until softened, then add in the garlic and fry for a minute.
- Transfer the onion and garlic into a casserole dish, add the bacon and sausages, and add in the vegetable stock
- Bring to a simmer, and then add the lentils, carrots, tomatoes, herbs and redcurrant jelly. Stir and season, cover, and then pop in the oven for 30 minutes
- After 30 minutes, give the casserole a stir, and if it’s looking a little dry add a touch more liquid.
- Cook in the oven for another 15 minutes, check the lentils are cooked (they do have a bit of a bite even when they are cooked) and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
