Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole is a rich and hearty dish straight from the south of France. Thick herby sausages and beans are simmered in a seasoned tomato sauce to make the most delicious casserole.
Dice the carrots, celery and onion into small chunks 1/2 cm across. Add these to the slow cooker with the minced garlic, thyme and parsley.
Cook the sausages in a large frying pan in the oil over a medium heat until lightly browned on the outside (1-2 minutes). Add the pork lardons and cook until they are golden at the edges and the sausages are a deeper colour (1-2 minutes). Transfer the sausages and lardons to the slow cooker.
In the same pan the meat was cooked in, drain away any excess fat released and return the pan to the heat. Add the wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes on a medium high setting to evaporate the alcohol.
Pour the reduced wine, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, chicken stock, (stock cube dissolved in hot water), sugar, paprika and pepper into the slow cooker.
Add the beans and bay leaves then stir gently to combine and ensure the bay is submerged in the sauce. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
At the end of the cooking time stir well and taste, add some salt if required.
Video
Notes
Brown the meat
Browning sausages and lardons makes them look more appetising and the sausage skin firms slightly, so they are less likely to fall apart whilst cooking. It also kick-starts the Maillard reaction which adds lots of extra flavour to the dish!
Salt
Add salt to taste at the end of the cooking. The recipe uses processed meat (sausages) which will already be highly seasoned. The stock and pork lardons also contain salt.
Dice the vegetables
Finely dice the vegetables so that they blend into the sauce with the beans. Pieces of 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) are the ideal size.
Stirring
Once the casserole is cooked ensure it's stirred through gently so that the beans and sausages remain intact as they will have softened during cooking.