Baked Sausage With Sweet Potato And Fennel

Ingredients

• 500g sweet potatoes (approx. 2 large ones), peeled
• 1 healthy-sized fennel bulb
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp celery seeds
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 solid, good-quality sausages
• 8 smoked back bacon rashers
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 100ml apple juice
• 50ml dry white wine (rough measurement)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 or 2 sprigs of thyme or fennel fronds if you can find them
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. To start, roughly chop the sweet potato into good 4cm chunks and chop the fennel into 1cm slices across the bulb then divide into the natural crescents. Place in a large roasting tin with the garlic, celery seeds and brown sugar. Drizzle over the olive oil and give everything a good muddle so all the vegetables are coated. Season well.
2. Wrap each sausage snugly in a rasher of bacon so it looks mummified and then nestle in with the vegetables. Roast the whole lot in the oven for 25 minutes.
3. Lightly sprinkle over the flour and jiggle the dish until it’s disappeared and has been incorporated among the vegetables. Pour over the apple juice, white wine and balsamic vinegar, add the herbs, then continue to roast for a further 20 minutes until everything is cooked through, the sauce is thickened and the kitchen is smelling delicious. Serve with a glass of cold cider!