Sausage and Lentil Stew

Last Friday we engaged in one of our favourite activities- watching 90s films and reminiscing about simpler times. When you’re a member of the lost generation sometimes it’s nice to think about how things could have been if we hadn’t been plunged into economic crisis. To combat the feelings of abject misery that can sometimes go along with such pondering, we often like to combine these activities with the consumption of delicious food; particularly comfort food. So it was that on a cold Friday evening a bunch of us gathered for a sausage and lentil stew coupled with the very excellent Empire Records, a film that shows a generation full of promise.

This recipe is taken adapted from one I once found on Food52– quite a good resource for new recipes. As I generally have several half used bags of lentils kicking around I mixed red and green lentils this time. I’ve made it before with just green lentils but I prefer this version as the red lentils give an excellent starchy quality that I didn’t have before. As always, more expensive sausages would have been tastier but hey- we’re on a budget. I definitely wouldn’t go cheaper than mid-range though as the sausages are a focal point in this dish and really processed wieners just won’t be good enough. One of my favourite things about this recipe is that you can use up old bacon fat from the fridge which makes it a) seem super frugal and b) extra delicious at the expense of c) health.

Cutback Charlie’s Basics Spagbol

My flatmate recently got back after a couple of weeks abroad so I thought her first meal back I’d make her favourite thing that I cook- my Basics Spagbol. It gets its name because I use Sainsbury’s basics pretty much everything in it. The cows might not have been particularly happy but they’re certainly inexpensive. The tomatoes probably had some problems too but happily they’re still delicious.

In my mind this type of comfort food is what George Osborne would cook for David Cameron after releasing the annual budget, except of course their traditional meal for such occasions is the hearts of the less fortunate. Maybe Georgie makes his spagbol out of mince made from failed benefit claimants? Hard to say really- I’ll leave it to you to decide.