At the moment, our local shopping has been impacted by the cyberattack on the Co-op. It has greatly altered the availability of all sorts of things. I have been avoiding going to the shops and using up what I have. This time, from the freezer, I had a pound of sausages, some ham stock, and the only vegetable I had was half a head of celery. I also have a lot of garlic and lots of tins of this and that.
INGREDIENTS:
- Olive oil
- 1 pack of sausages (around 400 to 450g)
- 1/2 head of celery
- A good pinch of dried peperoncini or other chilli flakes
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- Half a glass of white wine
- Around 200ml ham stock (or chicken stock)
- A tin of chickpeas in water – do not drain the chickpeas
- Lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- Chopped parsley and potatoes to serve
METHOD:
- Heat a little oil in the bottom of a large pan, and fry the sausages over a medium heat while you prepare the other ingredients. Turn them so they brown evenly.
- Slice the celery, leaves and stems, and chop the garlic.
- Remove the browned sausages from the pan, and turn to a low to medium heat with a bit of extra oil.
- Add the chilli flakes, and as soon as they start to sizzle, add the garlic and stir for a minute or two.
- Before the garlic starts to scorch, add the wine, stir to deglaze the bottom of the pan, and then add the celery, stock, chickpeas and the water in the chickpea can (this will thicken the gravy in the casserole). Add grated lemon zest, salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and then add the sausages.
- Cover and simmer for around 30 minutes. Once the celery is tender, it should be ready but if there is too much liquid for your liking, take off the lid and simmer to reduce this for around five minutes.
- Adjust seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
I served this with new potatoes, the whole lot garnished with chopped parsley.