Sausage & fennel meatballs with lentils
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Sausage & fennel meatballs with lentils

By Jane Hornby

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only
Sausage and mash with a healthier twist – roll your bangers into patties and serve with parsley pulses

  • Prep:10 mins
    Cook:55 mins
  • Serves 4
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 459
  • fat 16g
  • saturates 5g
  • carbs 39g
  • sugars 9g
  • fibre 13g
  • protein 35g
  • salt 3.1g

Ingredients

  • 450g pack low-fat sausages
  • 1 tsp fennel seed, crushed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 100ml full-bodied red wine
  • 200g puy lentils
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 850ml hot chicken or beef stock
  • juice ½ lemon
  • handful parsley, chopped, to serve

Method

  1. Squeeze the meat from the sausages into a large bowl. Add the fennel seeds and mix well with your hands. Shape the meat into 16 walnut-sized balls.

  2. Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the meatballs for 5 mins, turning regularly, until golden but not completely cooked through. Remove to a plate.

  3. Add the rest of the oil to the pan, tip in the onion, carrots and fennel, cover and let the veg sweat over a gentle heat for 10 mins until softened. Stir now and then.

  4. Uncover the vegetables, turn up the heat and let them start to colour here and there. Stir in the garlic, sizzle for 1 min, then splash in the wine and let it reduce by half. Stir in the lentils, tomato purée and stock. Cover and simmer for 25 mins or until the lentils are almost tender. Add the sausageballs, plus a splash of water if the pan is looking a little dry. Cover and simmer for a further 10 mins until the meat is cooked through. Squeeze over the lemon juice, season to taste and scatter with parsley to serve.

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