Spicy Sausage and Bean Salad

So far this week has proved exceedingly stressful and nasty, but I keep on going and tomorrow I am on a course in Brighton, which should hopefully be interesting and useful. It's nice to go through the photos of things I've eaten in the past couple of weeks and come across one that is so colourful and vibrant. This sausage and bean salad is an adaptation of a recipe in the WeghtWatchers Nice n Spicy book. The original recipe used normal sausages and chilli but I decided to use a spicy sausage instead and leave out the chilli. I also roasted my onions rather than leaving them raw.

Merguez sausages are fantastic, lovely and spicy and they remind me of getting back from summer holidays to France when I was younger. We always had these and bratwurst as our dinner when we arrived back as they require little effort on my Mum's part with all the unpacking that needed to be done. Also at that time I suspect that neither of these sausages was available here in the UK, Merguez is a North African sausage and Bratwurst traditionally German, so they were a real treat. Both still aren't really widely available, but I can't recommend them highly enough, especially the merguez if you like spicy and bratwurst if you like a meaty sausage.

Spicy Sausage and Bean Salad (adapted from WeightWatchers Nice N Spicy)
(Serves 4)
(9 WW ProPoints per serving)

8 merguez sausages
1 small red onion, quartered and halved again
4 ripe tomatoes, quartered and halved again
2 x 400g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
small bunch of fresh parsley, basil or coriander, chopped
salt and pepper

for the dressing
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tsp olive oil
1 tsp tabasco sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat the oven to 200C and bake the sausage for 30 mins and the onions for

Meanwhile, place all the dressing ingredients in a clean screw top jar and shake until mixed. Place the onions, tomatoes, beans and herbs in a bowl and season. Pour over the dressing.

Chop the sausage into small pieces, add to the salad and toss everything together. Leave to marinate for as long as possible before serving.