Italian Sausage Gratin - Winter Comfort Food
Ingredients:
120g tasty cheese cubed
1 clove garlic - peeled
1 onion – peeled and quartered
40g organic olive oil
1 carrot – washed and roughly chopped
2 stalks celery
1 x 400g tin organic tomatoes
50g dry white wine
150g water
1 tbsp TMX vegie stock concentrate
8 organic beef sausages (lean) or Italian flavoured sausages
2-3 bread rolls
butter (for spreading)
4 eggs (optional
Small handful of fresh basil leaves chopped
2-3 springs of thyme
Freshly cracked pepper to taste
To serve: Freshly baked rustic bread rolls and homemade butter. Mmmmm!
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Place pricked sausages in varoma dish. Place four on the bottom and the other four on top (facing in the other direction). Place the eggs (whole) in the varoma tray.
Add cheese to TMX bowl and grate on speed 8 for 3 seconds. Set aside.
Drop garlic onto blades spinning at speed 7. Add onion and chop at speed 5 for 3 seconds. Scrape down sides. Add oil and saute for 3 minutes at 100 degrees, speed 1.
Add carrot and celery and chop on speed 5 for 5 seconds. Add tomatoes, wine, water and stock.
Place the varoma into position and cook for approximately 25 minutes at varoma temperature on speed 2.5 (in between the 2 and 3). I like to give the sausages a quick turn after 15 minutes.
While the TMX is cooking slice the bread rolls into slices approximately 2cm thick and butter on one side. Place them buttered side down in a large baking dish (I use my glass lasagne dish). Cover the entire base of the dish with the slices.
After the TMX finishes check that the sausages are cooked and cook for a little longer if necessary.
Remove the varoma and place the eggs in a bowl of cold water to cool.
Slices the sausages into small pieces (I did 1cm slices) and place in the TMX. Place the basil, thyme and pepper into the bowl also. Mix on reverse speed 3 for 6 seconds.
Pour the sausage mixture over the bread in the baking dish. Peel the eggs and slice the boiled eggs thinly over the sausage mixture. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees. Enjoy!
Notes:
I am toying with the idea of chopping the sausages in the TMX (with the sauce), but am unsure how finely chopped they would end up.
You really need lean sausages for this recipe. It would be very oily with regular snags!
The recipe doesn't hold it's shape overly well, so perhaps consider making individual servings in ramekins if presentation is important.
Only add the eggs if you are really partial to boiled eggs. They were in the original recipe that I wrote down years ago, but are very optional. We liked them though. :-)
