Lepp’s Sausage and Apple Tray Bake
Tray bakes are the true heroes of make-ahead meals, and this sausage and apple bake is just the thing to bring to the table for everyone to dig in. To truly experience this dish at it’s best, you need to make sure to get a piece of sausage, apple and potato on your fork all at once!
Lepp’s Sausage and Apple Tray Bake
Ingredients
1 tablespoon neutral flavoured oil, such as grapeseed
1 kg Lepp’s British Banger sausages (about 8 sausages)
1 large leek, white and pale part only, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ Tbsp. flour or cornstarch
1 ½ cups Lepp’s Apple Cider
1 Tbsp. grainy mustard
½ cup Lepp’s chicken stock
1 lb. regular or sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Lepp’s Okanagan red apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges
2 Tbsp. butter
10–12 fresh sage leaves
2 cups coarsely torn Lepp’s Bakehouse White Sourdough Bread (about 3 slices)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil in a rimmed cookie sheet or baking tray, place sausages on a cooking sheet and toss them around until they are lightly covered in oil.
Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and turn sausages over.
While the sausages are baking, heat remaining oil and butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add leek and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or so to remove any floury taste. Gradually stir in the cider, stock, and mustard. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees. Add the sweet potato or potato and apple to the baking sheet, scattering around the sausages. Pour over the stock mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the extra butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the sage leaves for 1 minute or until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel, to drain. Add the bread to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until coated.
Remove the bake from the oven and sprinkle with the bread. Return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the topping is crisp and golden and the potatoes are fork-tender. Sprinkle over the crispy sage just before serving.
