Braised sausage, fennel and tomato stew with wet polenta

I love making braised sausage stews and this punchy number with tomato, olive and fennel is the perfect warming lunch after a cold frosty walk in the depths of winter.

It’s a hearty tomato sauce inspired by puttanesca with the warming hum of chilli and salty twang of kalamata olives. The sausages and fennel get cooked in the sauce, absorbing so much flavour and becoming wonderfully tender.