My latest book, Real Life Recipes, is all about inspiration for meals that feel realistic and fit in with your life. We all have a lot going on these days, and because of this it can be easy to get into the routine of cooking the same few dishes each week, while on social media it seems as though other people are entertaining friends with three-course dinners on a Tuesday night!
I know that real life tends to be messier and more spontaneous than that, so I wanted to show that however much time you have, cooking is a chance to get creative in the kitchen and to do something special for the people you care about. This one-pot sausage stew works well because it’s straightforward, and you can get everything you need in the supermarket.
I guarantee this will become a new regular on your midweek menu. It delivers on all fronts, with filling beans, sweet cherry tomatoes and smokiness from the paprika. Get a good colour on the sausages in the pan first, as this really boosts the flavour.
Whether you cook this for the family on the weekend or midweek it’s going to fill the house with delicious smells.
At the same time, please don’t put any pressure on yourself to try to live a picture-perfect lifestyle if that’s not your reality. Trust me, it’s few people’s reality! And I really don’t care if you have a bottle of brown sauce or ketchup on the table at teatime either. I’ll let you into a secret you might not see on my own social media: I often can’t resist a good dollop of brown sauce too!
Tom Kerridge’s one-pot sausage, tomato and butterbean stew
Tom Kerridge is a Michelin-starred chef and bestselling cookbook author. This recipe is from Real Life Recipes: Budget-friendly Recipes That Work Hard So You Don’t Have To, published by Bloomsbury. Photography by Cristian Barnett
