So trying a plant based sweet potato, sausage and bean casserole this time round. It contained baked beans as well or if you fancy you can throw in some beans of choice.
Baked beans in my case as the sauce will add flavour and some consistency to the overall sauce, but if putting dried red lentils and or dried barley in the consistency should be fine.
Raw ingredients:
3 x chopped and cubed sweet potatoes
1 x chopped red onion or white if you wish.
1 x largely chopped red bell pepper
2 x large chopped vine tomatoes
1 x double handful of white button mushrooms (whole)
2 x 400g tins of baked beans (My choice).
Dried ingredients:
1 x teacup of dried red lentils (optional, but preferable if not using baked beans)
0.5 x teacup of dried barley (optional, but preferable if not using baked beans)
Sausages:
I used 6 x Linda McCartney Rosemary & Red Onion sausages cut into pieces, and put in uncooked after defrosting. They are Vegan and Veggie compliant.
Seasoning:
2 x veg stock cubes with 1 pt of water for each cube, as the water will be absorbed into the dried red lentils and barley. Use just 1 pint of water if not using dried ingredients, and add more water later if required.
1 x teaspoon of chili powder
1 x teaspoon of paprika
1 x teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 x teaspoon of Lazy garlic
I also added late on 4 dessert spoons of veg gravy granules to thicken a little and add extra flavour.
Cooking:
As I used a slow cooker I threw everything in at the same time on high heat. Normally I would cook the sweet potato, dried red lentils and barley for an hour or two first in all the water and the seasoning to give it a head start. On this occasion I was lazy.
Keep checking hourly after the first 3 hours if a slow cooker, and stir a bit to ensure the dried ingredients aren’t stuck to the bottom.
Usually once it starts to visibly simmer at the top I turn it to the lower heat setting to avoid burning the bottom, and allowing for the flavour to release slowly.
If you are cooking it in an oven, you use the same time as you would with any other casserole you would make, checking water levels in the later stages. Usually 90-120 minutes is a typical casserole time if it has plenty of water in.
I use Bisto Veg gravy granules to thicken the overall consistency if I feel there is to much liquid in the finished dish.
I topped with fresh spinach leaves after portioning up for the freezer.
Bon appetite!