Sausage and lentil bake

Another 'bung it in the oven and then forget about it' tea, which mainly came about because (a) we had some uncooked sausages left over from the barbecue and (b) I was going climbing up stupidly large walls.

You'll need:

a tin of chopped tomatoes
an onion, sliced
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
veg of some description - I had some mushrooms that needed eating, but I've also made this with courgettes or peppers
a couple of bay leaves, a pinch of thyme, and about half a teaspoon of smoked paprika
sausages
a few handfuls of lentils - 3-4 is enough for the three of us
lots of black pepper

First of all, you need to make a tomato sauce. Fry the onions and the garlic in some olive oil until they're translucent. Add the mushrooms/veg and cook until softened. Add the tin of tomatoes, a little extra water (some red wine would also go down well) and the herbs, and then leave to simmer for 20 minutes or so.

In the meantime, cook your lentils. Once they're soft, drain, and add to the tomato sauce, with lots of black pepper. Bung this mixture in a roasting tin, and add the sausages (you can create pretty patterns if you feel like it, but I just usually line them up). Cook in the oven for an hour or so, at about 180 degrees C. You might need to check it half way through to make sure it's moist enough - add a little extra water if required.

It works well with a little bread/pitta bread to mop up the sauce, and maybe a nice green salad on the side.