This is cheap, easy, simple and quick dinner. It is perfect if you have my leftover cooked sausages too. You can use any fresh or dried herbs in this dish. You just add everything in the pot and it only needs 20 minutes. I do think you do need a good quality stock pot though as they are more concentrated in flavour. It is very healthy as there is no cream or carbs. It is filling but also light compared to having mash potatoes. Any flavour of sausage would work. Keeping some of the butterbean liquid is so helpful it’s called aqua fibre and is a natural thickener you can even use it to make eggless mayonnaise.

Ingredients (serves 2, just double for 4)

• 6 sausages, your preferred flavour
• 75g smoked bacon lardons or streaky bacon chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 medium leeks, sliced to 1cm rounds white part only
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1 sprig of thyme and rosemary, leaves only chopped ( can use 1tsp of dried instead)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tin of butter beans, half of the juice reserved
• 2 tbsp pesto, jarred or fresh
• Oil for frying
• Good pinch of sea salt and fresh black pepper

Directions

• Heat a drizzle of oil in a casserole or pan with a lid. Brown off the sausages and bacon all over for about 5 minutes. set aside.
• In the same pan add the butter and sliced leeks. Soften the leeks for about 7-10 minutes. Keep them moving, if they start to catch just add a splash of water.
• Grate in the garlic cloves and add the paprika. Cook for a further minute stirring until the garlic is fragrant and the paprika has coated everything.
• Pour in the stock, butter beans, herbs, red pepper flakes, (if using) and pesto and give it a light stir. Bring to the boil then turn the heat straight down to a simmer. If the liquid is too thin add in the reserved butterbean juice a tbsp at a time turn up the heat to medium and the juice will thicken the sauce. Add the salt and pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning to taste.
• Place the browned sausages on top of the beans. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with an extra grind of pepper (optional) serve and enjoy. 😊