Cumberland sausage make a great Mediterranean dish.  Longing for the long sunny days of your Mediterranean holiday?  Bring back the flavours of the sun and sea with a mouth watering Cumberland sausage Mediterranean casserole.  For best results buy the Cumberland sausage online or at your local butchers. You should find most of the ingredients in your cupboard and for optimum results the fresh vegetables should be bought on the day.  You could substitute frozen vegetables if time is scarce, but if you can find the time the added crunch of fresh peppers and onions is worth the effort.

Cumberland Sausage Mediterranean Casserole
Serves 6
Cooking time 1 hour - 1¼ hours
Medium heat

Ingredients
500gms Cumberland sausage 
2 tblsp vegetable cooking oil or olive oil
4 tablespoons tomato puree
3 large beef tomatoes skinned and sliced
300ml stock
30 gms plain flour
1 large onion sliced
1 medium red pepper sliced
1 medium green pepper sliced
1 large handful of fresh basil chopped
1 clove garlic crushed

Put the oil in a large frying pan and add the chopped Cumberland sausage. Gently cook until just turning golden brown on the outside.  Remove from the pan and set aside till later.
Add the red pepper, green pepper, crushed garlic, sliced onion, sliced tomato and chopped basil to the frying pan, retaining a small amount of basil for garnish later. Cook gently for about 3-5 minutes until softened.  Add the plain flour and cook through for 1 minute. 
Add the stock a little at a time stirring as you go. 
Add the tomato puree and stir in thoroughly.
Cover with a lid and place in the oven on a medium heat for about 1 hour - 1¼ hours.
Garnish with the remaining basil and serve immediately.

Serving ideas:

Rice
Serve with a good helping of wild rice and a side portion of cooked buttered mushrooms.  For extra bite, add a clove of crushed garlic to the mushrooms while cooking.

Salad
Toss a fresh cos lettuce into a salad spinner, wash and drain.  Spin till all the excess water has been drained off.  Pour into a Mediterranean serving bowl and add some sliced red onion and cherry tomatoes

Beef Tomato salad
Chop one tomato for each guest and add a diced red onion.  Cover with olive oil and serve with the sausage casserole.

Potatoes
Steam or boil 800gms potatoes.  Drain and mash well with a fork or masher.  Add a dash of olive oil and a tablespoon of mustard