Easy Sausage Casserole

This sausage casserole is incredibly easy and can be made with all of your favourite sausages. This recipe also freezes incredibly well so is perfect for cooking in bulk. Best of all, this sausage casserole recipe can be made from only a few ingredients that can often be found in the cupboard. The result is a dish that is the best of comfort food, incredibly rich and warming, and a sure-fire family favourite. Serve with crusty bread or mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 8 Sausages
• 2 to 3 brown/white onions, chopped roughly
• 500ml chicken stock
• 5 tbsps ketchup
• 5 tbsps brown sauce
  Note: You can add the ketchup and brown sauce to taste as well
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of cooking oil

Method:

1. The first thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark4.
2. Add a dash of oil to the bottom of a casserole pot and heat this to a medium high temperature.
3. Then add your sausages, in batches if necessary, and brown them. These do not need to be cooked through but you want a really nice sear on all sides for added flavour (this is due to the Maillard reaction which is when heat interacts with amino acids and sugars found within food). Add a touch more oil and reduce the heat if the sausages start to stick to the pan too much and turn black.
4. When browned, remove the sausages, add another dash of oil to the pot, then add your onions.
5. Cook your onions for about 10 minutes, stirring thoroughly and adding a dash more oil if they stick to the pan. You want to really soften them to add more flavour to the dish.
6. When the onions have really softened, add in your stock and stir thoroughly.
7. Add your ketchup and brown sauce, stir thoroughly again. You can taste test at this point and the flavour should be a mix of saltiness, sweetness, and slightly tart. These flavours will mellow out and blend together in the oven.
8. Add your sausages back into the pot, add a lid, then place in the oven for 40 minutes.
9. Take out and serve however you see fit.