So after a week of great fun and adventure, I am back from an amazing holiday feeling recharged and ready to take on the world. A very predictable aftermath, my first day back is incredibly busy having to juggle my job, unpacking, cleaning and all of the other mundane yet necessary chores leaving me with little time to go grocery shopping. Grocery shopping, I must confess, is something I like to do at leisure. And therefore, I find myself having to make do with whatever I find in my freezer and my pantry and leave the grocery haul for a better day.  Here, we have a bake made mostly with freezer and pantry items. There are, of course, an apple which was left behind quite unceremoniously in the fridge along with a few other bits and a little planning ahead to ensure the sausages were thawed and ready to cook. Oh, and there is a nice, big glass of red wine…

Portion:

• This recipe yields a generous meal for two. Nice and light for three.

Effort:

• Just a little prep and the oven does the rest. A hearty meal ready in 35 to 40 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 2 big potatoes (400-500 grams) of any kind; I love the fluffy varieties such as King Edward or Maris Piper in roasts and bakes
• 
• Salt
• Water to boil the potatoes
• Cumberland sausages- 6 (about 350 grams)
• 1 braeburn or gala apple; any sweet and tart variety works beautifully
• 6 to 8 shallots; you can use a big white onion instead as well
• 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and bruised
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar
• 4-5 leaves of sage, chopped roughly
• 1/4 tsp of sugar
• Pepper to taste; I love course ground pepper in this recipe; finely ground is great as well
• 2 cups of chopped or sliced fresh green beans. That said, I have used frozen beans here
• Another 1/2 tsp of olive oil to saute the beans

Method:

• First things first, preheat the oven at 200C.
• Thoroughly wash the potatoes (leave the skin on) and chop in 2 square inch pieces.
• Place a deep pan on high heat, add the chunks of potatoes,  just enough water to submerge the potatoes and a tbsp of salt and place the lid on.
• Once the water comes to a boil (in about 5 mins) reduce the heat to medium and let it cook for another 3 mins with the lid on.
• Now, drain the potatoes properly and let it cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, chop the apples in 1 square inch pieces and shallots in quarters (1 inch chunks if you are using onions instead)
• Place the apples, shallots/ onions, garlic, potatoes and the sausages in a roasting tray.
• In a separate bowl, make a quick marinade by mixing the oil, vinegar, sage, sugar, pepper and a pinch of salt. Because the potatoes were boiled in seasoned water and rest of the ingredients are wonderfully flavourful, a pinch of salt is all you really need. Of course, feel free to adjust to taste.
• Now pour the marinade into the roasting tray, rub to coat the potatoes, apples and sausage well in the marinade and spread them all out in the tray in a single layer.
• Place the tray in the preheated oven and let it bake for 15 minutes.
• Now, take it out of the oven, turn them over, put it back in the oven and let it go for another 10-15 minutes.
• While the oven does its magic on the bake, place a pan on high heat and add 1/2 tsp of olive oil.
• Once the oil is hot enough (touch the pan with a slice of bean and if you a sizzle, it is hot enough), add the green beans, a pinch of salt and a little pepper.
• Stir quickly to combine, spread it out and tossing it no more than once or twice, let it cook for 2-3 minutes or until al dente.
• With beans ready and the bake wonderfully golden, it’s time to eat 🙂