Tray bake offers real richness, intensity

Sausage, kumara and grape tray bake. Photo by Christine O'Connor
Sausage, kumara and grape tray bake. Photo by Christine O'Connor

A real richness and intensity of tastes develop with a tray bake, Joan Bishop writes. Cooking everything together in one pot is a brilliant way to build up and concentrate all the tossed-together flavours and aromas.

Pork sausages have a savoury meatiness that is complemented by the lovely mellow sweetness of kumara and grapes and the zesty sharpness of sumac adds a bit of a kick.

This is one of those recipes which, while not quick to cook, is quick to assemble. You need spend little time on this, no more than a few minutes, quartering the onions and peeling and dicing the kumara. Toss these together with the sausages, oil and spices in a large shallow roasting dish. Pop it into a preheated oven and leave to cook unattended for 40 minutes.

Add the grapes for the final 20 minutes by which time everything should be glossy, golden brown and smelling simply scrumptious.

While pretty much a meal in itself, you could serve this with creamy mashed potatoes, rice or a crusty bread and a salad.

It is particularly important with this tray bake that you choose a good-quality sausage.

The seasonings enhance and give a wonderful depth of flavour to a top-notch sausage. This is not a recipe where a sauce masks the taste of an inferior sausage. The sticky, spicy juices on the base of the roasting dish are very delicious so scrape the dish well as you serve.

I think sumac is a must-have flavouring for the pantry. It is a Middle Eastern seasoning; fruity, zesty and slightly sour without the acidity of lemon or vinegar. The reddish purple seeds are dried then crushed and finely ground. Sprinkle it on to pan-fried or grilled fish, boiled new potatoes, tomatoes, roast or grilled beef or lamb. Sumac adds colour and a slightly tart kick to a wide range of foods.



Sausage, kumara and grape tray bake 

10 quality pork sausages, 900g (I use Blackball, available from some supermarkets.)
2 small red onions, quartered lengthways and then peeled
2 medium orange kumara (about 700g total), peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 Tbsp olive oil
1½ Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp ground sumac
½ tsp salt
1½ Tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
2 Tbsp chopped thyme leaves
300g red or black grapes
extra thyme leaves and sprigs to garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 200degC.

Lightly oil the base of a large shallow roasting dish and add the sausages, red onions and kumara. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, cumin, sumac, salt, Thai sweet chilli sauce and the chopped thyme leaves. Mix well, and drizzle over the sausages and vegetables. Turn the sausages and the vegetables until well coated with the oil and the spices. I find the easiest way to do this is using my hands.

Bake for about 40 minutes, turn the sausages over to brown the other side. The vegetables do not need turning. Add the grapes and cook for 20 minutes longer until the sausages are nicely browned and cooked through and the vegetables are tender and golden. Sprinkle with chopped fresh thyme, garnish with the thyme sprigs and serve.

Serves 4-6

 

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