Sausage and apple casserole with sage dumplings
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Sausage and apple casserole with sage dumplings
Pillowy dumplings soak up the cider-spiked sauce in this comforting one-pot dinner. Use your favourite type of sausages, such as Cumberland or Lincolnshire
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Nell Gordon-Hall
Our food producer Nell’s cooking is rooted in the bold and fresh flavours of the Middle East and Mediterranean. Trained in professional kitchens and with a background in food styling, she understands exactly how to make food taste delicious and look great. The kitchen is where she works and – just as often – where she unwinds.
Nell Gordon-Hall
Our food producer Nell’s cooking is rooted in the bold and fresh flavours of the Middle East and Mediterranean. Trained in professional kitchens and with a background in food styling, she understands exactly how to make food taste delicious and look great. The kitchen is where she works and – just as often – where she unwinds.
Ingredients
- ½ x 200g pack diced pancetta
- 2 onions, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 8 pork sausages
- 30g plain flour
- 300ml cider
- 600ml hot chicken stock (made using 1 stock cube)
- 2 apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges
- 2 bay leaves
- 150g lighter crème fraîche
- 1 x 200g pack cavolo nero, tough stalks removed, and roughly chopped
For the dumplings
- 150g self-raising flour
- 70g suet, chilled
- ½ x 20g pack sage, leaves finely chopped
Step by step
Make the casserole base (without the dumplings) up to 2 days ahead, cool and store in the fridge. Gently reheat and continue from step 2.
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Place the pancetta in a large casserole or lidded sauté pan and set over a medium-high heat. Fry for 8-10 minutes until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is golden. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Add the onions to the fat in the pan and fry for 8-10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add to the plate of pancetta, then add the sausages to the fat left in the pan. Brown them all over, then remove to a separate plate. Return the pancetta mixture to the pan and stir in the flour, cooking for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the cider and stock until combined. Reduce the heat to a simmer and return the sausages to the pan, along with the apple wedges and bay leaves. Cook for 15 minutes, uncovered.
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Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Combine the flour, suet and sage in a large mixing bowl and season with salt. Make a well in the middle and slowly pour in 60-70ml ice-cold water, stirring as you go, until you get a soft, shaggy dough. Briefly knead with your hands to a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Divide into 4 balls.
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Whisk the crème fraîche into the casserole, then add the cavolo nero and season to taste. Place the dumplings on top, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes until the dumplings have puffed up, then serve.
