Sausage and chickpea stew recipe

This is a lovely rich and winter warming stew that can be on the table in about an hour. 

Chose any variety of sausage you like - we’ve used classic thick pork sausages as they are such a good budget buy, but why not try a flavoursome continental sausage such as German bockwurst or Polish smoked sausage. Passata is a smooth thick tomato sauce made from sieved tomatoes but if you don’t have any just puree a 400g can of chopped tomatoes with 2 tbsp tomato purée - this will probably work out a bit cheaper too. But either way, this is one of our favourite, hearty cheap family meals.Serve with creamy mashed potatoes or steamed couscous.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 thick pork sausages
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 300ml passata
• 400ml hot vegetable stock
• 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Few sprigs fresh thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large deep flameproof casserole dish and fry the sausages over a high heat for 3-4mins until browned all over. Remove and set aside.
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery and potatoes to the dish and cover and cook over a low heat for 5mins, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle over the papika and cook for 1min then stir in the passata and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
3. Slice each sausage diagonally into three and add to the dish with the chickpeas and half the thyme sprigs. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and simmer for 35-40mins until the vegetables are tender. Serve garnished with the rest of the thyme sprigs.

Top tip for making sausage and chickpea stew

For a thicker sauce, blend 2 tsp cornflour to a paste with cold water and stir into the casserole at the end of the cooking time. Simmer, stirring all the time, for a further 5mins until thickened.