This is a quick and easy recipe, and is tasty eaten cold the next day. Cavolo nero has a wonderful plant form (I've heard it called cabbage palm) and I grow it for its looks as much as its use. It's a bit like the globe artichoke in that it gives a great architectural shape and height in the garden. Loved by Jamie Oliver, cavolo nero has been an Italian darling for years. I like it cooked into hearty soups and braises. Like many of these leaves, it's a good foil for fatty flavours, sausages, pork, bacon and goes well with beans. As a side dish it complements all kinds of meat and strong flavoured fish.
Ingredients
| 20 leaves | Cavolo nero (Main) |
| 6 | Pork sausages, I used Harmony free-range pork and fennel (Main) |
| 400 g | Cherry tomatoes (Main) |
| 400 g | Lentils, canned (Main) |
| 2 Tbsp | Olive oil, or more |
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Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
- Trim the cavolo nero leaves, cutting off any tough stalks. Chop roughly.
- Put the sausages in a baking dish with a cup of water. Put the tomatoes in another baking dish. Put these into the oven and bake for 15 miutes. By this time the sausages will be nearly cooked and the tomatoes will start to blister.
- Drain the lentils and place in an oven-proof casserole dish. Cover these with tomatoes. Sit the cavolo nero on top of the tomatoes.
- Cut the sausages into 5 pieces each. Sit these on top of the leaves.
- Drizzle with at least 2 tbsp olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
- Place the casserole in the middle of the oven and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Before serving, stir the mix around to distribute all the ingredients.
