Sweet Cherry Tomato and Sausage Bake
- 4 1/4 pounds lovely ripe cherry tomatoes, mixed colors if you can find them
- 2 sprigs each fresh thyme, rosemary and bay
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 12 good-quality coarse Italian pork sausages
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- There are so many things I love about this dish: it's all cooked in 1 pan; we're using more robust herbs like thyme, rosemary and bay with the tomatoes, which work really well; the half-roasted, half-stewed fresh tomatoes turn into a lovely rich and chunky sauce which is miles better than anything you can get if using canned tomatoes; and we're roasting the sausages, which I think is far better than frying or broiling them.
- Try to buy the best fresh coarsely ground sausages you can.
- PS Any leftovers can be chopped up and made into a wonderful chunky pasta dish, using penne or rigatoni, the next day.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Get yourself an appropriately sized roasting pan, large enough to take the tomatoes in 1 snug-fitting layer.
- Put in all your tomatoes, the herb sprigs, oregano, garlic and sausages.
- Drizzle well with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
- Toss together, then make sure the sausages are on top and pop the pan into the oven for half an hour.
- After this time, give it a shake and turn the sausages over.
- Put back into the oven for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how golden and sticky you like your sausages.
- Once cooked, you'll have an intense, tomatoey sauce.
- If it's a little too thin, lift out the sausages and place the pan on the stove to cook it down to the consistency you like - I tend to make mine quite thick - then put the sausages back in.
- Check the seasoning and serve either with a good-quality loaf of bread warmed through in a low oven for 10 minutes (great for mopping up the sauce!)
- or with mashed potato, rice or polenta, a green salad and a nice glass of wine.
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cherry tomatoes, thyme, oregano, garlic, extravirgin olive oil, vinegar, salt
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/sweet-cherry-tomato-and-sausage-bake-recipe.html (may not work)