Dinner tonight: Sausages with tomato lentils

Quite by chance I caught the end of Italy Unpacked just as Giorgio Locatelli was frying plump Italian sausages for this simple dish. He’d already cooked some lenticchie grown in the foothills of the distant Apennines, which we could glimpse through the open window. Next up was home-made passata, and the cooking aroma was palpable. Andrew Graham-Dixon, clearly in need of a glass of red, could hardly contain himself and neither could I. The next morning I was out with my shopping list. Here is the result.

Serves 4 Prep 15 min Cook 45 min

Ingredients: 250g lenticchie di Castelluccio or Puy lentils; 900ml water; ½ chicken stock cube; 1-2 tbsp olive oil; 12 meaty pork and herb sausages; 3 shallots or 150g onion; 400g