Once the warmer months hit, I want to be out and about outdoors. I am all for ease in the kitchen and I really don't want to be chained to the stove if I can help it! Who does!
That's when my lazy streak takes over and I get inspired to do things that are quick and easy, with minimum of fuss and little or no cleaning up. Actually . . . truth be told I try to do that most of the time anyways.
Quick, easy and fuss free doesn't necessarily equate to tasteless however as this recipe I am showing today will show you!
I love tray bakes. They are so simple to put together, and if you line your baking tray with foil, there is very little to clean up!
A quick spritz of low fat cooking spray also ensures that nothing sticks, and keeps the fat down as well. You get the effect of frying without the frying.
Today I have used a mix of vegetables, all cut into similar sized chunks . . . carrots, potatoes, swede, parsnips, leeks and onions. These get seasoned and tossed together with a tiny bit of oil and scattered over the baking tray.
I like to scatter some sprigs of thyme over top also. You can use whatever vegetables you prefer. Sweet potatoes, winter squash, aubergine, peppers, courgettes, slices of corn cobs, all work well.
The vegetable world is really your oyster, but you do want to use things that will cook pretty much in a similar amount of time, or else you could add the ones that take the longest to cook first and then add others as you go along.
These get roasted at a high temperature for about 10 minutes, then you take them out, give them a stir and place sausage chipolatas on top before returning the baking tray to the oven.
A chipolata is simply a thinner sausage, rather than the thick fat ones. They cook faster.
You could of course use the larger fatter ones if you want, but they will take longer to cook. If I was using larger ones, I would parboil them for a few minutes first in a mix of simmering water and lemon juice.
This also helps remove quite a bit of fat. You just drain it away. My ex SIL taught me this trick many, many moons ago, and she was Cordon Bleu trained, so I reckon she really knew what she was doing.
Once the vegetables have gotten golden brown, and the sausages are pretty much cooked through a mix of marmalade and a few other bits gets spooned over the sausages and they get roasted again, until the sausages are glazed and finger licking tasty good!
The glaze has an almost sweet and sour property to it, which I quite like with sausages, and if some of it reaches the vegetables, then so much the better!
Altogether this is really delicious. All you need on the side is a salad to finish the deal! Your family will love this. Children really enjoy the sticky sweet savoury element of this and it is a really delicious way to get them to eat some more veg, which can't be bad!
*Sticky Sausage Tray Bake*
Serves 4
A quick and easy weeknight supper that the whole family will love. You can use any root vegetables you enjoy.
500g new potatoes, unpeeled and cut into chunks (a generous pound)
2 large leeks, trimmed and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 small swede (rutabaga) peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 TBS olive oil
salt, pepper and garlic granules to taste
12 pork chipolata sausages (thinner sausages, use a meaty one with a nice flavour)
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 dessertspoons of marmalade
1 TBS soy sauce
2 tsp grainy mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with aluminium foil (or several smaller ones). Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Toss the vegetables together with the oil, salt, pepper and garlic granules to taste. Scatter out into a single layer on the baking tray. Sprinkle with the fresh thyme sprigs. Roast for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and stir.
Lay the sausages on top. Return to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip the sausages over.
Whisk together the marmalade, soy sauce, mustard and vinegar. Spoon a portion of this over each sausage. Return to the oven for a further 10 to 15 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender and the sausages are cooked through and glazed. Remove from the oven, divide between 4 plates and serve.
Note - If you don't want to heat up the kitchen, his could be done outdoors on the BBQ using a large roasting tin that you don't mind using on the grill. Just heat up the BBQ, and then turn down to medium low, pop the tray on, close the lid and proceed. I have not done this, but I can't see why it wouldn't work. You could also do individual portions in foil packets, with the vegetables on the bottom, topped by a few chipolatas and a spoonful of the marmalade glaze, seal and roast on the grill.
We have really been blessed with beautiful weather this May/June. I am getting rather spoilt with it all. This week coming up is supposed to be even hotter still. I see a week of salads and grills coming! Bon appetit!
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